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Southern Africa is one of the major suppliers of raw materials necessary for the automotive sector’s supply chain. However, the region remains far behind in integrating into the global supply chain, with the exception of South Africa. Hence, building supply chain resilience is one of the region’s major goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals, Agenda 2063, and the regional supply chain under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). This paper presents a regional supply chain mapping of the automotive industry. The article also empirically analyzed the impact of productive capacity on intra-Southern African trade along the automotive value chain. The analysis of the regional value chain (RVC) mapping suggests that South Africa is the most integrated country in the Southern African region across the tiered automotive component value chain, demonstrating a strong position in intra-regional trade for all levels of component production. The empirical analysis of the gravity models (PPML and IV-PPML) underscores the crucial role of productive capacity in enhancing intra-Southern African exports of automotive components, with particular emphasis on Tier 1 components. As the most advanced and high-value-added segment within the automotive value chain, Tier 1 components require a robust foundation of manufacturing capacity, skilled labor and efficient processes to meet the stringent standards of both regional and global markets. The analysis indicates that countries with higher levels of productive capacity are better positioned to serve as reliable suppliers of these essential components, facilitating stronger trade ties within the Southern African region.