The announcement by BWM that it is investing R4.2 billion (almost US$225 million) into the production of a hybrid X3 model vehicle at its Rosslyn plant in South Africa could signal a turning point for the continent’s car sector.
“The investment announced today will electrify yet another site in the BMW Group production network, in line with the global BMW iFACTORY master plan for production of the future. It marks a further step in advancing the development of efficient, digitalised, resource-friendly production” the carmaker announced this week.
The X3 is BMW’s best-selling car, produced for local consumption and export at the Rosslyn facility, BMW’s first-ever foreign production line when it opened 50 years ago, at which the car marker has produced 1.6 million BMW vehicles to date. Production of the new vehicle will begin in 2024, according to the carmaker.
“This will be BMW’s first electric model produced in South Africa, exclusively manufactured here for global distribution,” said Milan Nedeljković, BMW AG Board Member for Production, at an event to mark the site’s silver jubilee.
Substantial investment will be allocated towards upgrading the manufacturing infrastructure and enhancing the skills of the workforce.
With BMW already exporting to 14 African countries from South Africa, this move will not only contribute significantly to the production of electric vehicles for the European and Asian markets but will also open doors to the burgeoning African electric vehicle (EV) market.
But South Africa is not the only African country with electric vehicle ambitions.
Morocco and Egypt are also making remarkable strides in electric vehicle manufacturing, with both markets already touting home-grown electric vehicles.
In Egypt, multiple initiatives are underway to introduce the country’s first locally manufactured electric vehicle.
The Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport is in the advanced stages of development of an EV and a February 2023 report suggests that the vehicle will be available in the market by August 2023, priced as low as US $3000 (EGP 95000).
Morocco, which already exports significant numbers of vehicles – a record US$4.8 billion worth of vehicles in just the first half of 2023, according to news site atalayar.com – is positioning itself to lead local electric vehicle manufacturing on the continent.
In the coming weeks, Morocco plans to introduce its own 100% electric car, the Neo EV, into the market, with an average retail price of US$16,200, according to Ryad Mezzour, the Minister for Industry and Trade.
The recent launch of a 100GWh battery facility in Morocco has further bolstered its capabilities.
International automakers have expressed interest in utilizing the continent’s abundant natural resources to enter the rapidly expanding electric vehicle industry.
German luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz has set the ambitious goal of having an all-electric vehicle in every series it deals in by 2025, making a 40 billion euros investment to realize this objective.
Mercedes-Benz’s South African plant, which helped produce the C63 AMG PHEV series of plug-in hybrid electric cars for the company’s foreign markets, will be crucial to this shift.
The International Energy Agency’s 2022 Energy Outlook projects that electric vehicle manufacturing in Africa will significantly reduce e-vehicle costs, particularly in South Africa, where the effective duty rate currently reaches as high as 34%.
The recently ratified African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTFA) is expected to boost trade – including in new vehicles – across the continent, in coming years.
This story was originally published in bird story agency