FILE PHOTO: Deputy President Paul Mashatile with BMW Group CEO Peter van Binsbergen in Rosslyn Plant SA, Akasia, Tshwane. The automotive company celebrates 50 years in South Africa. PICTURE: GCIS
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0 JOHANNESBURG: The BMW Group is investing R4.2 billion for the “electrification” of its Rosslyn manufacturing plant.
The BMW Group has announced an investment of R4.2 billion in its Rosslyn manufacturing plant (outside Pretoria) to produce its next-generation electric X3 model. The German manufacturer will be produced at Plant Rosslyn in the second half of 2024 as a plug-in hybrid for global export.
The announcement comes as the German luxury vehicle manufacturer celebrates its 50th anniversary. BMW said the investment will be accompanied by specialist training for more than 300 employees at the plant.
The multi-national automaker noted that the South African plant has produced more than 1.6 million vehicles to date and exported them to more than 40 countries worldwide.
Speaking to a Johannesburg-based radio station, Peter van Binsbergen, CEO of BMW Group South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa said the “plant in Rosslyn’s production portfolio has included the BMW 1800 SA and BMW 2000 SA as well as the BMW 5 Series and 7 Series.
“For decades it was a cornerstone of BMW 3 Series production, and it has been manufacturing the BMW X3 since 2018 – the best-selling BMW. Its establishment marked the start of BMW’s globalisation. It’s a hybrid model, so what we’ll be introducing in the second half of next year is the brand-new X3 in a hybrid model with a petrol engine, combined with electric drive,” he said.
This being the new-generation X3, the model doesn’t exist yet van Binsbergen confirms. Not only will they be the first hybrids to be built in South Africa by BMW, but the local plant will also be the auto maker’s sole provider.
“BMW’s elected to make BMW South Africa, the Rosslyn plant, the sole provider of the X3 hybrid with the new generation.” van Binsbergen explains.
When asked why BMW go hybrid and not full-electric when many countries will be banning the sale of any vehicle with an internal combustion engine in about ten years’ time?
Van Binsbergen explains that the hybrid is seen as an ideal bridging technology and an ideal way to step into the electrified era for a South African factory.
“I believe that from 2035 onwards the hybrids can’t be sold either in the UK or Europe, and this model we’re talking about won’t be allowed anymore, so it actually works perfectly for that timing,” he said.
“It allows us to introduce electric drive into the South African factory, bring skills into the country, a skills development programme for our people on the line, and make a half a step let’s say towards full electric. And it’s a very important first step,” he added.
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