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BMW South Africa is going electric – and will be investing R4,2 billion over five years to prepare its manufacturing plant in Rosslyn in Pretoria for the electro mobility era.
Dr Milan Nedeljkovíc, member of the board of management of BMW AG for production and chair of the board of management for BMW Group South Africa, said on Wednesday the next generation BMW X3 will be produced at Plant Rosslyn from the second half of 2024 and “will come as a plug-in hybrid”.
“It will be the first electric model produced in South Africa [by BMW] and this model will be exclusively manufactured here in South Africa for the world,” he said. Nedeljkovíc said the plant will also produce internal combustion engine (ICE) derivatives of the vehicle.
BMW SA said that with the investment in electrification and digitalisation, the BMW Group is further underlining its commitment to South Africa forged over five decades in the country.
It said the investment secures the future of BMW Group Plant Rosslyn and the livelihoods of more than 20 000 people directly and indirectly employed at BMW Group SA’s facilities and within its supply chain. It added that the investment also underscores the BMW Group’s role as a key player in the South African automotive industry’s move towards a green economy.
BMW Group South Africa & Sub-Saharan Africa CEO Peter van Binsbergen stressed that BMW SA has not received any special treatment from the South African government to enable it to make the investment. BMW SA’s sprawling Rosslyn plant in Pretoria, where the group will manufacture its next-generation BMW X3 from the second half of 2024.
“We made a decision as a group to go ahead with electrification because it makes sense to do it, not because of any particular government incentive.
“We have been very vocal, not critical of the government, and challenging to get an answer [on the policy] because we haven’t got an answer yet,” said Van Binsbergen. – Moneyweb
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