Chery Automobile has completed the acquisition of Nissan Motor’s vehicle assembly plant in Rosslyn, near the South Africa capital Pretoria, marking a new phase in the Chinese automaker’s expansion into the African region.
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Restructuring Nissan first announced that it had reached an agreement to sell its manufacturing facilities in South Africa to Chery back in January, after its sales in the country continued to decline last year – by 20% to 8,700 vehicles.
Chery said vehicle production at the Rosslyn plant is scheduled to begin in mid-2027, once new manufacturing equipment is installed, with output expected to reach to 15,000 vehicles by the end of the year. The facility will have an annual production capacity of 50,000 vehicles on a single shift.
Speaking at the takeover ceremony, Chery’s chaiman Yin Tongyue underscored the company’s long-term commitment to South Africa when he said: “We have moved from being an importer to a manufacturer, and from a market participant to a long-term partner in South Africa’s industrial story.”
Chery said it will retain the plant’s existing 692 employees and expects to create a further 3,000 direct and indirect jobs, at the plant and in the broader supply chain and related services. The automaker confirmed that it also plans to increase component localization, to help create a regional manufacturing hub.
