JOINT VENTURE
Xi and Ramaphosa unveil first BAIC vehicle produced in Africa
The vehicle officially launched at BAIC SA’s new production facility in the Coega's special economic zone
President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on Tuesday jointly unveiled, via live video link, the first BAIC vehicle to be assembled in Africa. The vehicle, an X25 crossover that went on sale in fully imported form in SA in 2017, was officially launched at BAIC SA’s new production facility in the Coega Development Corporation special economic zone in Port Elizabeth. The event marked completion of the first phase of the plant, which is mainly focused on the vehicle assembly line, with other elements such as a paint shop and press shop to be constructed at a later stage. The unveiling took place during the Brics summit, which is being hosted by SA. BAIC already assembles minibus taxis at a facility owned jointly by its subsidiary BAW and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) in Springs, Gauteng. The new facility at Coega is an R11bn joint venture between BAIC International and the IDC to assemble vehicles for the South African market as well as markets ac...
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