BMW South Africa plans to introduce a third shift at its production plant in Rosslyn by the end of this year, increasing the installed production capacity of the plant to more than 90 000 units and creating 600 new jobs.
Frank-Peter Arndt, member of the BMW AG board of management responsible for production, said yesterday (mon) this would more than double BMW exports from South Africa.
Arndt was speaking at a function at the plant to commemorate the start of production of the new BMW 3-Series after investing R2.2 billion to further upgrade the facility.
Bodo Donauer, managing director of BMW SA, said the majority of its R2.2 billion investment would qualify for the Automotive Incentive Scheme (AIS) of the new Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP).
The investment incentive under the AIS is 20 percent and is tied to performance criteria, including volume growth, employment growth, new technology and localisation, with an additional incentive of 10 percent tied to development performance.
Donauer said the new 3-Series would be launched in South Africa on March 17 and production would be slowly ramped up to ensure the production process was stable.
He said the majority of the cars it produced would be exported to the US and Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Korea.
The additional volumes produced once the Rosslyn plant moved to a three-shift operation would go to these same markets.
Donauer said there were no signs the global economic uncertainty had affected demand for the new 3-Series but BMW SA had a huge export area to cover, which meant one could balance another if there was a problem.
Apart from South Africa, the new 3-Series will only be produced at three other plants worldwide - Munich and Regensburg in Germany, and in China.
Ebrahim Patel, the economic development minister, said the launch of the new BMW 3-Series and R2.2 billion investment was a private sector vote of confidence in the South African economy.
Patel said the investment and jobs created would expand Tshwane’s position as the largest auto manufacturing centre in the country with more than 200 suppliers and a concentration of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the city.
He said the auto sector was an engine of growth, accounting for about 10 percent of South African manufactured exports and 5 percent of total exports.
“To sustain and facilitate growth in exports, the South African government will over the coming years strengthen the logistics and transport corridor between South Africa’s main industrial hubs to improve access to ports and export facilities.
“The resultant infrastructure will reduce transport and logistical costs to BMW and other manufacturers, making South Africa a more competitive investment destination,” he said. - Roy Cokayne