BMW Group South Africa starts anniversary celebrations as 300 000th BMW X3 rolls off assembly line. Photo: Supplied
BMW Group South Africa has lauded the country’s “very stable” industrial policy which has kept it invested for 50 years, in spite of challenging economic conditions brought by the energy crisis, infrastructure and logistics woes.
This is a significant vote of confidence in the country’s investment drive on the back of negative reaction by a number of private sector players over South Africa’s policy uncertainty and slow progress to implement structural reforms.
The Bavarian car manufacturer yesterday celebrated its 50th anniversary in South Africa with the 300 000th BMW X3 rolling off the assembly line at its plant at Rosslyn, outside Pretoria.
Established in March 1973, Plant Rosslyn was the first BMW production site outside of Germany and has gone on to become a key player in global production network, producing more than 1.6 million cars to date.
BMW Group South Africa CEO Peter van Binsbergen said yesterday that the industrial policy has been very stable and very long-thinking, with a lot of foresight in spite of the government changing hands over the past five decades.
Van Binsbergen said this had allowed BMW to make investment decisions over long life cycles of the product, which was what the auto industry and the economy really needed.
“I think the one thing that has kept us here over the decades has been a stable industrial policy,” Van Binsbergen said.
“So I can only commend whichever government it was on keeping a very stable policy, which is what keeps the auto industry alive in South Africa. Very simply, if it wasn’t for that policy we wouldn't be here.
“And we are in very good discussions with the current dtic minister Ebrahim Patel and his team about how to now adapt that industrial policy for electric vehicles because that's going to secure our future in the country for the next generations.”
The BMW Group has invested more than R12.6 billion in the production facility since 1995, a clear demonstration of its long-term commitment to South Africa as the group directly and indirectly employs close to 23 000 people.
Plant Rosslyn has over the years produced iconic cars unique to South Africa such as the BMW 2000 SA, BMW 745i, BMW 530 MLE, BMW 333i, as well as the BMW 325iS.
The plant would go on to produce 1 191 604 BMW 3 Series over five generations, before changing to BMW X3 production in 2018.
It contributed R2.6 billion to the South African economy in 2022.
More than 300 000 BMW X3s have been produced at Plant Rosslyn, the bulk of which are exported to more than 40 markets, including 14 African countries.
However, Van Binsbergen said although they had enjoyed a degree of success with their South African operations, there were a number of challenges.
He said economic hardship brought by high inflation was affecting their customers, while the shortage of raw materials, energy supply and corruption in the country were other challenges.
“The biggest challenge I would say is the challenge we face with our infrastructure in this country. Simply put, electricity and rail, and those things need to be fixed pretty quickly because that's the biggest challenge we face in the future,” Van Binsbergen said.
Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday directed Transnet to implement reforms swiftly and completely to turn around the crisis in South Africa’s logistics system.
Ramaphosa met with the members of the Transnet board and the executive management team to discuss the challenges facing the country’s logistics system, including the declining performance of the freight rail network.
The government has set out a clear policy direction for the freight transport sector in the White Paper on National Rail Policy and in legislation such as the National Ports Act and the Economic Regulation of Transport Bill that is currently before Parliament.
One of these reforms is to enable third party access to the freight rail network by private rail operators, while the network itself remains in the ownership of the state.
Ramaphosa said strong collaboration with the private sector, organised labour and other social partners was vital to improving logistics performance.
“There is work under way between the various departments to finalise this roadmap, co-ordinated by Operation Vulindlela, and I would like this process to be completed as quickly as possible,” Ramaphosa said.
“We must remain focused on structural reforms to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of the transport sector.
“Transnet must quickly embark on a clear path to take us out of this crisis and ensure that the operation of our railways and ports contributes to the growth of our economy.”
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