The South African plant of Nissan is acquired by Chery
- The Japanese carmaker Nissan recently announced that it would make some of its underutilized assembly plants available to its competitors, either by selling them to a carmaker or by leasing them. It has already been observed that the Nissan plant in Barcelona, Spain, was acquired by the Chinese company Chery to assemble some of its models for the European market. Chery has now set its sights on another Nissan plant, which it has just acquired: the Rosslyn plant in South Africa. This plant had been producing the Nissan Navara pickup truck for African markets for about twenty years (mid-range pickups are highly sought-after vehicles on this continent) at a rate of 10,000 to 20,000 units per year, although the model experienced a production peak in 2018 (39,000 units produced). By 2025, production volume had fallen back to 10,000 units.
- While this factory is not of paramount importance to Nissan, for Chery it will represent its first production site in Africa capable of supplying the whole of Africa without being subject to high customs duties.
- South Africa benefits from a skilled workforce and modern logistics infrastructure. Furthermore, the South African government offers significant tax incentives to carmakers who produce locally.
- Chery, the third-largest Chinese automaker by production volume after BYD and Geely, can solidify its image as a global carmaker through this acquisition and prepare for the massive arrival of its electric vehicles, as South Africa seeks to attract this type of investment to modernize its automotive industry. For now, it remains unclear which Chery models will be produced at the Rosslyn plant.