Chery makes its official: South African production starting in 2027

Having stayed mum until now, Chery has provided subtle hints of its production plans for South Africa following its acquisition of Nissan’s Rosslyn plant outside Pretoria.

End of an era….

Amid a global restructuring involving the closure of several plants, the Japanese brand confirmed at the end of January that its 60-year-old facility had been sold to Chery without affecting its workforce.

As part of the deal, the plant, surrounding buildings and stamping plant will become the property of Chery South Africa.

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In addition, all soon-to-be Chery South Africa employees will be offered the same terms and conditions of employment as those offered by Nissan.

“Through this agreement, we’re able to secure employment for the majority of our workforce thereby also preserving opportunities for our supplier network,” Nissan Africa President, Jordi Vila, said in a statement at the time.

In a later interview with IOL, Vila confirmed that production of the Navara will end in May after five years. Sales will, however, continue as the brand changes from an assembler to an importer.

“There is a plus and a minus. We lose production credits, but we also lose fixed costs. Our intention is to keep price continuity where we operate,” Vila said.

… start of a new beginning

In a newly released statement, Chery Vice-President and Executive Vice-President of Chery International, Charlie Zhang, said retrofitting of Rosslyn would soon start and continue for at least another 18 months.

He added that production of the first South African-made Chery product will commence in 2027, but stopped short of confirming what it will be.

Speculation has, however, suggested that the incoming KP31 bakkie could be the most viable candidate based on Rosslyn having only produced commercial vehicles until now in the shape of the Navara and erstwhile NP200.

“Chery’s investment in South Africa is not only an important step in the company’s globalisation development, but also our long-term commitment to the economic and industrial development of South Africa,” Zhang says.

“The project will directly and indirectly create nearly 3 000 jobs, covering multiple sectors including manufacturing, supply chain, and services”.

As per the agreement with Nissan, Zhang said all the employees mentioned will be retained “to ensure continuity and a smooth project transition”.

“Chery’s entry into South Africa is not a short-term decision, but a long-term commitment to the future,” Zhang said.

“We are bringing not only investment and products, but also confidence in industrial cooperation, investment in technological development, and a firm determination to grow together with South Africa”.

More later

Aside from South Africa, products will also be exported “to better serve the South African and broader African market”.

As it stands, more details of which products will be produced, whether under Chery or its Jetour, Omoda & Jaecoo and iCaur brands, will only be revealed once it fully takes control of Rosslyn.

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