BMW Group South Africa has announced a R4,2-billion investment in the electrification of its Rosslyn Plant.
From 2024, BMW Group Plant Rosslyn will produce the BMW X3 as a plug-in hybrid to export it to the world. With this investment in electrification and digitalisation, the BMW Group is further underlining its commitment to South Africa forged over five decades in the country.
The news comes as the company celebrates 50 years in South Africa.
Milan Nedeljković, BMW board member for production, comments: “From 2024 we will manufacture the BMW X3 as a plug-in hybrid for global export in South Africa. An investment of R4,2-billion will ready Plant Rosslyn for electromobility.”
The investment will be accompanied by specialist training for more than 300 employees at the plant.
The electrification of another site in the BMW Group production network is in line with the global BMW iFactory master plan for production of the future.
Plant Rosslyn has produced more than 1,6-million vehicles to date and exported them to more than 40 countries worldwide, including 14 nations in Africa.
Its 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.
The establishment of Plant Rosslyn marked the start of BMW’s globalisation. Today, the BMW Group sells vehicles in more than 140 countries around the world and operates manufacturing facilities in 15.
Nedeljković, who is also chairman of the board of management of BMW South Africa, emphasised that the BMW Group does more than just make cars in the country: “In South Africa we have not just set up a plant that offers employment and contributes to the country’s industrialisation; for the last 50 years, we have also demonstrated the meaning of social responsibility.”
The BMW Group considers itself a responsible corporate citizen and also announced today that it would be donating more than 1,5-million euros to support a programme run by UNICEF (the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund). Together, the BMW Group and UNICEF will use the programme to teach science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) to thousands of children and young South Africans.
Resource conservation is also under the spotlight. Since 2015 Plant Rosslyn has sourced part of its energy from a nearby biogas plant (Bio2Watt), steadily reducing its CO2 footprint. It also partners various organisations so that the waste it produces is reused instead of being disposed of. Together with Envirolite, for example, it ensures that scrap polystyrene is reprocessed for use as a building material. This has enabled the construction of more than 650 low-cost houses since the project was launched a good two years ago.
Last year the company opened further offices in South Africa, for its global IT hub, which is now home to about 2 000 employees providing global IT services for the BMW Group