APS : Friday, 16 March 2018
LONDON-International investments in the automotive industry in Algeria gain pace following the measures designed to back domestic protection and reach 500,000 units by 2019,
said the British experts group Oxford Business Group (OGB).
In an article on the automotive industry in Algeria, the OGB group stressed “the increase in domestic production was the result of the government moves to attract more private sector investment -both domestic and foreign- in local manufacturing, in line with efforts to reduce the import bill and diversify the economy. The country is targeting total automotive production of 500,000 units by 2019.”
Vehicle software development offers expansion potential, said the OGB.
Areas of opportunity include manufacture of software operating systems and applications designed to control the function of vehicles, developed by global tech firms and car companies alike as part of efforts to create connected cars, said OBG.
“In addition to local production and assembly, increased investment in value-added manufacturing, such as next-generation software for vehicles, holds potential for the developing automotive industry,” OBG wrote.
“New software models are rapidly disrupting the global automotive industry, and in some senses, it is less of a concern if Algeria does not currently have a robust automotive industry,” Riad Hartani, strategic technology adviser for the Algiers Smart City project, told OBG.
“Focusing on the new opportunities in the software value chain would potentially allow Algeria to be one of the first countries in the world to enter this new promising segment,” stressed Hartani.
“While such a strategy would require significant upgrades to the current technology ecosystem, it could serve to both increase and diversify foreign direct investment inflows, and help attract highly skilled technological expertise to the country,” OBG concluded.
