Made in the RSA
The motor-manufacturing industry has long been a pillar of the South African economy. Here is the long and proud history of how your favourite brands began in our country
Back in February 1957, when this magazine started, there were ve locally owned assembly plants, of which three survive today under international ownership. Here, then, is the story of where many of the vehicles tested by CAR over the last six decades were assembled or manufactured, and we trace how today’s major automotive brands had their start in South Africa.
FORD Ford Motor Company of South Africa (1924-present)
Like most of Ford’s overseas operations, Ford of SA was a subsidiary of Ford of Canada, not Ford USA. The Ford Port Elizabeth assembly line began on 19 January 1924, becoming the 16th overseas operation for Ford. In October 1930, the need for larger premises saw a move from the wool store structure to a larger location on Harrower Road, but a further move in 1948 to Neave Township was necessary. In 1974, Ford then built another plant at Struandale, but GMSA later acquired this plant. Since then, Ford has moved most of its operations inland to its Silverton plant near Pretoria, but has maintained a presence in PE, mainly for engine production.
In mid-1985, Ford of Canada sold 58% of its interest in Ford SA to the South African Motor Corporation (Pty) Ltd (SAMCOR), formed by Anglo American as the successor to Sigma, which a year before had become Amcar Motor Holdings (Pty) Ltd. Ford divested its interest in South Africa in 1987, but returned in 1994 and acquired 45% of SAMCOR, which increased to full ownership in 2000.
GENERAL MOTORS General Motors South Africa (1926-‘86) Delta Motor Corporation (1986-2004) General Motors South Africa (2004-present)
In March 1926, GM built a plant on Darling Street, Port Elizabeth, but in 1929 moved to its current location on Kempston Road. This facility is the oldest in SA, and GMSA can also lay claim to having assembled a larger variety of GM brands sourced from a greater number of countries than any other GM plant. Included were the top Cadillac and long-forgotten Oakland and Lasalle.
The Aloes engine plant began in 1966 and produced the small Vauxhall Viva engine and a range of Chevrolet fourand six-cylinder powertrains, which also gave GMSA the record of equipping more GM makes with engines never found in their country of origin.
TOYOTA Motor Assemblies (1948-‘81) Toyota SA Manufacturing (1981-present)
Following a land purchase during World War Two, Mccarthy Rodway Ltd and Forsdick Motors formed Motor Assemblies Ltd (MA), based in Durban. Atkinson Oates Ltd also held a minority interest from 1946. Chrysler-branded products started off the assembly line in 1948, followed by Morris in 1950 and later other Nuf eld brands. The BMC merger with Austin ultimately resulted in a gradual move to the BMC Blackheath plant, including Triumph in 1969, which had started at MA in 1952 as Standard with the Vanguard.
Other makes that were assembled or manufactured by MA include Volvo (1961-‘73), Fiat (1962-‘69), Lancia (1962‘68), Rambler/hornet (1969-’76) and Renault (1975-‘85). Motor Assemblies has also been the source of most Japanese brands introduced into South Africa. Although MA became Toyota SA, Datsun began at the plant a year before in 1961 and Mazda arrived a year after Toyota in 1963. These dates relate to bakkies; the Japanese cars came later.
In 1964, Dr Albert Wessels secured the MA plant and a future for Toyota, outbidding Fiat and the Bekker brothers who had the Datsun franchise.
VOLKSWAGEN South African Motor Assemblers and Distributors (SAMAD) (1948-‘65) Volkswagen of South Africa (1966-present)
South African Industrial and Commercial Holdings Ltd invested in SAMAD for the assembly of Studebakers that started in Uitenhage in 1948. Despite scepticism, SAMAD took on Volkswagen in 1951. With import permits initially delayed, a reciprocal arrangement was achieved whereby Germans bought SA wine. After the demise of Studebaker, the Uitenhage plant took on the Volkswagen title in 1966.
Starting in 1950, the Austin A40 was assembled for ve years and replaced by the Volkswagen Kombi. Audi was brought on board in 1968 and manufactured through to 2001. Volvo was built for two years from 1973 and Jeep from 1976 to ‘80.
MERCEDES-BENZ Car Distributors Assembly (1950-‘86) Mercedes-benz of South Africa (1986-present)
In 1948, Haaks Garage and Westraads Motors formed Nash Distributors Assembly, but changed the name to Car Distributors (CDA) a year later when it began assembling Nash, Standard Vanguard, Packard, Fiat, Renault and Land Rover vehicles. First to go from the East London plant after two years was Vanguard, next Land Rover in 1956, followed in 1957 by Pack-
ard, Nash the next year, Fiat in 1964 and Renault in 1968.
Mercedes-benz arrived in 1958, followed by Jaguar (for six years) and Alfa Romeo (for seven years). DKW and Auto Union had a four-year run from 1961 and these various departures left CDA catering solely to Mercedes-benz, although a Honda union lasted from 1982 to 2000.
DATSUN Datsun Motor Vehicle Distributors (1965-‘67) Rosslyn Motor Assemblers (1967-present)
After losing out in the bid for the Durban Motor Assemblies plant, the Bekker family created the rst automotive plant in Rosslyn north of Pretoria, which began producing Datsuns in 1965. Two years later, Alfa Romeo arrived for a 10-year relationship, along with AMC Rambler.
In 1968, Rosslyn Motor Assemblers (Pty) Ltd (RMA) was formed, allowing Renault to take a 26% interest in the operation, with the local Datsun investors retaining the 74% balance. BMW assembly began the same year, but it moved to its current Rosslyn-based facility two years later. Late in 1969, Peugeot signed up with RMA, only to leave early in 1970. Renault followed Peugeot to take over the former Stanley Motors plant, but came back to RMA for the 1972-‘75 timeframe.
BMW Kaiser Jeep Africa (1967-‘70) Praetor Assemblers (1970-‘72) BMW South Africa (1972-present)
In 1960, Willys Jeep started a small operation from Bramley, close to Sandton, after previously being aligned with Stanley Motors, and seven years later another plant at Rosslyn was opened to assemble the Jeep Wagoneer. The next year, Lancia and the Mitsubishi Colt were added (for two years only, though) and Citroën assembly began in 1969, but left in 1971 to take over the plant vacated by Rover in Port Elizabeth.
In 1970, BMW, after a two-year period with Datsun, moved into this Rosslyn plant that, in the same year, transitioned from Kaiser Jeep to Praetor Assemblers. In 1972, this Rosslyn plant became the rst foreign-owned BMW operation.