Upgrading the Periphery? The Contribution of Car Companies to Environmental Governance in South Africa

Abstract

While the old triad of Europe, the United States and Japan is facing a time of economic stagnation, the emerging markets — such as the BRICS¹ states — have become the main engine of growth for the international car industry.² It is in the context of this development that the automotive industry has invested substantially in South Africa over the past one and a half decades. This investment has granted the industry access to the South African growth market, and preferential access to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA),³ and to Europe under similar preferential trade agreements.⁴