Long road for Chinese
Clock ticking for Beijing Auto in SA
With a huge investment under way in the Eastern Cape and ambitious production plans, Beijing Automotive faces an immediate challenge to overcome weak brand recognition
The clock is ticking for car manufacturer Beijing Automotive as its new vehicle assembly plant in the Eastern Cape begins to take shape. With barely a year to go before the plant starts producing vehicles, the Chinese state-owned enterprise introduced its first imported car this month to an SA public that, to all intents and purposes, doesn’t know the company or its products exist. Beijing Auto officials are sticking to a timetable that requires the greenfields plant, at the Coega industrial development zone near Port Elizabeth, to roll out cars from the first half of 2018. With their 35% local partner, the Industrial Development Corp (IDC), the Chinese confirm they will spend up to R11bn to create a factory with an eventual annual capacity of 100,000 cars, pick-ups and sports utility vehicles (SUVs). In theory, that target will be reached in 2027. That’s ambitious, considering the company’s Baic auto brand is such an unknown in SA. That makes the sales performance of this month’s i...
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