The African (Chinese) Car and Easy Victories

How many posts have you seen on social media about “[INSERT COUNTRY] in Africa launches New electric car or whatever high-value item everyone else seems to make without blinking? I find it interesting we can “build’ a car but not the website to advertise it. The truth is, we like the headlines that make us feel good. What most fail to realize is that all these LOUD claims actually stymie true development, which is always going to struggle to live up to the shocking titles that can gather 20K likes on Facebook. And what you need to know about the 20K that love this kind of news is that the majority of them do not support and have zero investment in any form of silent development (creating an educated Africa). Right after that post, they were again clicking like on celebrity news and memes. ¹

While clickbait news offers us the feel-good drug with zero need to be part of anything that demands our money or our time.

Which “black” person in South Africa is behind any electric vehicle in a country starved of electricity? They can’t even keep the grid on or get good pass marks in maths and science. ²

Cabral said

Mask no challenge, tell the people no lies, and claim no easy victories

But the story of the icon Ibrahim Traore made you feel good. There is an online buzz around this young brother— and rightly so. But why not celebrate his actual accomplishments as opposed to turning him into a superhero on an unrealistic platform from which he will fall? But was it really made in Africa? And what true value does it have to our development? Do we even understand enough about economics to know what these things mean?

 

In one of the comments, someone said to a detractor picking on the word “own” that “why do we always tear down black accomplishments?” The question is, is a Facebook post about a Chinese car a “black accomplishment”? What “Black” genius was involved in the process? Is boiling water a Black accomplishment also? Do we have a bar for this kind of thing? Is a guy assembling an AliExpress glove an engineer? Is calling attention to this bigotry of low self-expectations a form of self-hate or “tearing down”?

I used to purchase Ikea furniture back in the day, when I assembled it, I don’t think it made me an engineer or a designer.

It is good news, this electric car from African Business Insider, who have honestly nothing notable to report in a continent a century behind the rest of the world.

• Africa’s EV market projected to reach $15.8 billion in 2024 and $25.4 billion by 2029

DEEPLY TROUBLING TRENDS

If your child cannot read, it will become permanent the longer you ignore it. Worst if you deny the problem and instead dress up the problem as a victory. Africa does not have engineers capable of doing anything the rest of the world is doing.

Tata is 80 years old. They even own the likes of Jaguar Land Rover. Can you imagine being comfortable, as an African, with a Chinese assembled car in 2025? This is what you are boasting about? But the pattern seems to be tied to our cultural outlook. Like boasting about Black Panther as an African accomplishment. Everyone who made that film that looks like us was hired.

So while we are boasting, India was producing real engineers who design real cars. Very hard to get there when all we need (to be happy) is a social media post. No one from that page has any interest in making sure their kid becomes an engineer. We want the crops, but do not think we have to plant seeds to get them. But Clickbait does not plant seeds or harvest crops.

CHINA IS SMART

I am not an expert on the car industry, but if China had two options: (a) ship fully assembled cars with Chinese names into Africa or (b) ship the parts, rebrand it for shallow African pride with names like native, and assemble in Africa. I am betting (b) is a very good strategy for China. I am 100% sure they are not paying any duty on those parts in exchange for creating a few petty jobs in Africa— none of them going as high as an engineer. Good for China, crumbs for Africa.

 

CONCLUSION

If you said this was how we were going to get to indigenous manufacture in 80 years, then fine. If this were 1970, then fine. We are in 2025, and I do fear that in 50 years the situation will be worse. But today on the news I heard the finance minister of some African country talk about plans to make Africa more attractive to the rest of the world to get greater investment and create more jobs. This is African leadership, so much so that they honestly do not know any other path.

What clickbait feels good does is dull us to the economic reality of the world. It is catch-up where we Africans outdo the real world of manufacturing with AI-generated news.

Content with Feel Good AI-generated factories making fictional phones for a non-existent market in the name of Black pride. But Black pride did not plan to support any African industry (just clicking like on the fake ones). Black Pride did not want to have the conversation about education and the need for engineers and more STEM graduates? No, Black Pride was kicking a football around or dancing to music.

African final goods started behind, and unfortunately, things are getting worse for us everywhere. Lack of support would be key to why that is happening. I cannot point to any other single factor more destructive. And it also comes from people who on social media would say stuff like “We need our own…” But only in a crisis when we feel the heat. The other 364 days of the year they are unconcerned with why a continent so massive, with so much culture, produces so little. And that is factoring in the African Diaspora.

1. we know this because we researched this and you can do the same if you have the time[↩]
2. Why South Africa Lags behind in Math and Science IOL[↩]