Mercedes-Benz invests R10bn in East London
Expansion is the largest single vehicle investment by a foreign original equipment manufacturer
Mercedes-Benz Cars has invested €600m (R10bn) to expand its East London manufacturing plant to make next generation C-Class vehicles, mostly for export, including the new Mercedes-AMG high-performance range. This is the largest single vehicle investment by a foreign original equipment manufacturer (OEM), says Nico Vermeulen, director of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA. Investment by OEMs tends to be long term. In 2015, BMW invested more than R6bn in a plant north of Pretoria and had started production of the X3 sport utility vehicle. At about the same time, Volkswagen and Toyota invested similar amounts in their plants near Port Elizabeth and in Durban, respectively, with Ford adding another R2.5bn. Mercedes announced the investment on Tuesday during a visit to the factory by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The president has set up a team to help attract $100bn (R1.2-trillion) in investments into the country over the next five years. “The announcement by Merced...
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