BMW Group South Africa says the first examples of its SA-built X3 have left Plant Rosslyn to be exported to Europe.
The local arm of the Munich-based brand says it recently transported more than 100 units on 27 wagons via train to the Port of Durban. BMW’s vehicle distribution centre in Rosslyn near Pretoria can accommodate up to three train dispatches a week, with each capable of carrying up to 160 cars.
Tim Abbott, CEO of BMW Group SA and Sub-Saharan Africa, described the completion of the first exports units as “a big moment” for the brand’s local arm.
“It’s the result of a R6,1-billion investment into the country and the culmination of three years of hard work and planning. It’s really exciting to know that BMW Group Plant Rosslyn has joined the enormous success story of BMW’s X models globally, and goes to show the power of combining good industrial policy and foreign investment,” Abbott said.
In February 2018, the final 3 Series sedan rolled off the production line at Plant Rosslyn, as the facility prepared to switch production to the new X3. Upgrading the factory for X3 production represented the largest infrastructure upgrade in the plant’s history, but BMW says it has “gone ahead on time and without any unplanned disruptions”.
Plant Rosslyn’s maximum capacity for the third-generation X3 is 76 000 units a year.
