Nissan puts R3bn into SA for new Navara production

By Farzana Chaumoo

Nissan invests R3 billion to equip its local Rosslyn plant with the necessities to produce the new Navara model.

 

Media folk, key stakeholders, and even President Cyril Ramaphosa, gathered this morning at the Nissan plant in Rosslyn, North of Pretoria, for a special announcement.  

 

“Today, we’re able to announce that the Nissan South Africa Rosslyn facility will build the entire model range Nissan Navara for both local and export (markets),” said Mike Whitfield, managing director at Nissan South Africa. Nissan has invested R3 billion into its Rosslyn plant for preparation of the production of the new Navara pickup.

 

South Africa has been acknowledged for the being the most important base for new growth and the aim is to double Nissan’s presence and industrial footprints in this region, as well as in Africa, by 2022. The Japanese automaker is already developing facilities in Ghana and wants to set up in Algeria and also leverage their Nigerian presence.

 

By 2035, the goal is to increase local content per car and increase local vehicle production. Nissan vehicles built in South Africa are being exported to more than 45 countries and Nissan is proud of what is being achieved here and of the running of the plant, which has made its way into the top 15 Nissan plants globally.

 

President Ramaphosa said that automotive is already the largest part of South Africa’s manufacturing sector. It contributes around 7.0% GDP annually and accounting for a third of manufacturing output and Nissan’s decision to produce the Navara in South Africa was further proof of the increasing contribution of the automotive industry to the country. He also congratulated Nissan SA in their efforts to secure this significant model as they had to beat other global Nissan production operations for the right to produce it.