{"id":626633,"date":"2026-01-27T13:59:31","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T11:59:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=626633"},"modified":"2026-01-27T14:00:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T12:00:25","slug":"all-the-cars-built-in-south-africa-and-what-could-be-coming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/motoring\/626633-all-the-cars-built-in-south-africa-and-what-could-be-coming.html","title":{"rendered":"All the cars built in South Africa \u2014 and what could be coming"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are currently 16 distinct vehicle models being built in South Africa, supporting roughly 115,000 direct jobs or around half a million staff when considering the entire value chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa has a long history in automotive manufacturing, starting with Ford opening an assembly plant in Port Elizabeth for the world’s first mass-produced car \u2014 the Model T \u2014 in 1923.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another U.S. giant \u2014 General Motors \u2014 was the second brand to start up production in the Eastern Cape city in 1926. Its products included Chevrolet and Opel cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several more automakers launched local production from the 1950s onwards. However, not all have maintained their presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brands that came and went include Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Daihatsu, Dodge, Opel, Saab, and Seat. Many of the brands’ exits came amid broader global challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early 2026, 10 companies are still making cars in South Africa. These are Toyota, Volkswagen, Ford, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Isuzu, Hyundai, Mahindra, and Foton. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latter is owned by SAIC, one of China’s largest vehicle brands. Foton’s sister company, BAIC, also builds its Beijing X55 SUV from semi-knock-down kits in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After nearly 60 years in South Africa, Nissan will be shutting down local manufacturing at its Rosslyn plant in Pretoria. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Future models of its last locally-made car \u2014 the Navara bakkie \u2014 will be imported. The brand also plans to continue providing after-sales support and rolling out new vehicle models in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, the plant itself will not go to waste. Chery, which is South Africa’s largest Chinese car manufacturing group when counting sales of all its sub-brands, will be taking over the facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nissan’s production had been declining for many years before it decided to exit the sector. However, it is not the only brand with major challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The big three German firms \u2014 Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz \u2014 are facing intense competition from value-oriented Chinese brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They now have to deal with the prospect of even more competitive pricing from Chery, which is expected to use its local facility to produce the highly-popular Tiggo 4 Pro crossover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa loses continental crown<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Chery’s Tiggo 4 Pro was South Africa’s 4th best-selling passenger car in 2025. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Chery’s biggest Chinese competitor \u2014 GWM \u2014 is also in talks with local vehicle assemblers to initiate joint manufacturing, particularly for its P-series bakkies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chinese could breathe new life into a troubled sector. Up to 2025, South Africa was the largest vehicle producer on the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, it was surpassed by Morocco, which produced over a million vehicles, far exceeding the roughly 600,000 made locally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morocco’s achievement is even more remarkable when considering that South Africa’s best year for vehicle production was in 2023, when 633,337 units rolled off local factory floors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chery’s investment also comes at an opportune time. South Africa’s slow transition towards NEV manufacturing is one of the major factors driving down its vehicle exports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting 1 March 2026, local carmakers will get a tax deduction of up to 150% of their investment into new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturing. Below are the 16 cars currently made in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Volkswagen Polo Vivo <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • Assembly location:<\/strong> Kariega, Eastern Cape<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    Toyota Corolla Cross<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • Assembly location:<\/strong> Prospecton, Durban<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n

      Ford Ranger <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      • Assembly location:<\/strong> Silverton, Pretoria<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
        \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
        \n\n\n\n

        Toyota Hilux <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • Assembly location:<\/strong> Prospecton, Durban<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
          \n\n\n\n

          Isuzu D-Max <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          • Assembly location:<\/strong> Struandale, Gqeberha<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
            \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
            \n\n\n\n

            Volkswagen Polo <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
              \n
            • Assembly location:<\/strong> Kariega, Eastern Cape<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
              \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
              \n\n\n\n

              Mahindra Scorpio Pik-Up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                \n
              • Assembly location:<\/strong> Dube Trade Port, Durban <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                \n\n\n\n

                Toyota Fortuner<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                  \n
                • Assembly location:<\/strong> Prospecton, Durban<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                  \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                  \n\n\n\n

                  Toyota Hi-Ace<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                    \n
                  • Assembly location:<\/strong> Prospecton, Durban<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                    \n\n\n\n

                    Nissan Navara (soon to be discontinued)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                      \n
                    • Assembly location:<\/strong> Rosslyn, Pretoria<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                      \n\n\n\n

                      BMW X3<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                        \n
                      • Assembly location:<\/strong> Rosslyn, Pretoria<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                        \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                        \n\n\n\n

                        Hyundai EX8<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                          \n
                        • Assembly location:<\/strong> Benoni, East Rand<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                          \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                          \n\n\n\n

                          Hyundai H-100 <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                            \n
                          • Assembly location:<\/strong> Benoni, East Rand<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                            \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                            \n\n\n\n

                            Mercedes-Benz C-class<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                              \n
                            • Assembly location:<\/strong> East London, Eastern Cape<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                              \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                              \n\n\n\n

                              Volkswagen Amarok<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                                \n
                              • Assembly location:<\/strong> Silverton, Pretoria<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                                \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                                \n\n\n\n

                                Foton Tunland G7<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                                  \n
                                • Assembly location:<\/strong> Gqeberha, Eastern Cape<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                                  \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                                  \n\n\n\n

                                  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                                  There are currently 16 distinct vehicle models being built in South Africa, supporting roughly 115,000 direct jobs or around half a million staff when considering the entire value chain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341042,"featured_media":626707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29366],"tags":[1964,78574,102822,83779,98964,82661,81195,7953,775,11919,11383],"class_list":["post-626633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motoring","tag-bmw","tag-car-manufacturers","tag-car-manufacturing","tag-chery","tag-foton","tag-gwm","tag-mahindra","tag-mercedes-benz","tag-nissan","tag-toyota","tag-volkswagen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626633"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341042"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=626633"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":626736,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626633\/revisions\/626736"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/626707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=626633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=626633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=626633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}