BizNews Edge: Chery, Rosslyn, and the R40bn subsidy nobody wants to talk about

Name: BizNews Edge: Chery, Rosslyn, and the R40bn subsidy nobody wants to talk about
Uploaded: 2026-07-06T12:06:16Z
Description: MacKay unpacks SA's R40bn automotive subsidy trap as Chery takes Rosslyn — and warns the honeypot is open to any manufacturer willing to dip.

MacKay unpacks SA's R40bn automotive subsidy trap as Chery takes Rosslyn — and warns the honeypot is open to any manufacturer willing to dip.

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Trade expert Donald MacKay joins BizNews to unpack what really happened at the old Nissan plant in Rosslyn. On the surface, Chery's arrival looks like a foreign investment win. Underneath it is a subsidy programme costing South African taxpayers over R40 billion a year — spread across just seven companies — and a double dip: Beijing subsidises its manufacturers, and so does Pretoria. MacKay's warning is that anyone who knows how to work the system can now walk through that same door. His benchmark says it all: a South African-made Mercedes costs 30% more here than in Manhattan. Also today: new data shows black South Africans hold two thirds of JSE-listed shares in a finding that cuts straight through the nothing-has-changed narrative — and one year on from the balaclava press conference, the Mkhwanazi story keeps unravelling.