Mahindra has revealed that it will soon start assembling “certain vehicles”, including its light commercial Pik Up, in South Africa.
Rajesh Gupta, the newly appointed CEO of Mahindra South Africa, said in a statement that the local arm of the Indian automaker would soon announce details of a local assembly facility for “certain Mahindra vehicles”, starting with the Pik Up.
The facility, which CARmag.co.za understands will be officially opened at the Dube TradePort Special Economic Zone some 30 km north of Durban towards the end of May 2018, would serve both South Africa and certain export markets.
“For the next step in our strategy of becoming a truly South African automotive player, we will start with the assembly of the Mahindra Pik Up on local soil. This will offer us a sound footing on which to further entrench our South African sales success,” said Gupta.
Mahindra SA added that its move to local vehicle manufacturing would be supported by the “expansion of its range of products and services in South Africa”.
“Since entering the market in 2004, Mahindra has slowly and organically grown its market share and reach in South Africa and neighbouring countries,” added Gupta.
“In the past two years, however, we have more aggressively introduced new models and extended our reach in Southern Africa in step with our long-term strategy of becoming a significant African automotive player.”
