Published2,142 passenger plug-in hybrid vehicles were built in South Africa from January to May this year. 1,740 plug-in hybrid vehicles were built from January to April, meaning that 402 passenger plug-in hybrid vehicles were built in the month of May. Most of these are probably Mercedes-Benz C-Classes, given the range of vehicles and brands that are assembled or manufactured in South Africa.
BMW Group SA announced this as part of its 50th anniversary in South Africa celebrations. BMW SA was the European premium car maker’s first wholly owned plant outside Germany and has manufactured more than 1.6 million vehicles at its Rosslyn plant over the past 50 years. Around 20,000 people are directly and indirectly employed at BMW SA’s facilities and within its supply chain.
The motor vehicle and associated vehicle components production industry is the largest manufacturing sector in the South African economy. A substantial 21.7% of value addition within the domestic manufacturing output was derived from vehicle and automotive component manufacturing in 2022, while the broader automotive industry’s contribution to the GDP comprised 4.9% . South African automotive trade amounted to R435 billion in 2022, and comprised 16.