Innovation

Early in July, the Chery Group made its first significant investment into the local market when it took over the Nissan plant in Rosslyn, Pretoria. Chery has now evolved from being solely a vehicle importer to strategic partner in the South African economy. It also plans to retain the roughly 700 employees at Rosslyn and upgrade it to ramp up production to 15 000 units during Q3 and Q4 2027. The company says it will create nearly 3 000 direct and indirect jobs across manufacturing, supply chain and services.

Exact figures have not been disclosed but the deal is upwards of hundreds of millions of dollars, which will be spent on new machinery, and upgrading the production line for multiple vehicle types.