"Whether it is the shipping lines, the ports or the infrastructure, we have to get our efficiency lines to levels where we can compete internationally,” says Safmarine’s Africa region executive, Alan Jones, who offers some food for thought on the subject of automotive logistics.

Why not consider directing all in and outgoing, non-automotive, cargo through the port of Coega and transform Port Elizabeth into an exclusive "car port", along with tourist facilities to include accommodation establishments the city is bound to need once Coega is a reality?