Talks to manufacture new Nissan pick-up at Rosslyn ‘on track’
NEGOTIATIONS between Nissan South Africa and parent company Nissan Motor Company of Japan about the production of a new oneton pick-up at the company’s manufacturing plant in Rosslyn in Pretoria are “on track”.
Mike Whitfield, the managing director of Nissan SA, confirmed to Business Report last week that he hoped to make an announcement about the outcome of these negotiations in October. An announcement on the new model to be produced at the Rosslyn plant is long overdue.
R1bn investment
Nissan Motor Company in 2012 announced a R1 billion investment in South Africa to double the annual production capacity of the Rosslyn plant to 100 000 units and for the production of a new one-ton pick-up for the domestic and export markets.
Whitfield admitted that models currently produced at the plant, the NP300 Hardbody one-ton left and right-hand drive pick-up and NP200 halfton bakkie, were at the end of their life cycle.
Nissan launched a new pick-up model in Europe earlier this year and several weeks ago in the Middle East.
Whitfield stressed that the Rosslyn plant was not competing with any other plants to manufacture the new pick-up, including Nissan’s semi knocked down operation in Nigeria.
He said the new pick-up was “the right product for the African market” and would be launched into the South African market “shortly” as a fully built-up imported vehicle.
‘For the industry to grow, it can’t just rely on the SA market… it must grow the regional market.’
Whitfield said the ongoing negotiations about the manufacture of the new pick-up model at the Rosslyn plant related to ensuring they could achieve the appropriate cost benefits, with local component supply an issue.
He said the model would never become a big volume seller in the domestic market if it was not produced locally.
Whitfield added that the portion of the investment not specific to the new model had already been made and had increased the annual production capacity of the plant to 110 000, of which about 40 000 units were currently being used.
He said a training centre was finished and operating with a simulator, while an incubation centre that was being developed in partnership with the Gauteng government was almost complete.
“We will make further investments in our stamping facilities as we go forward, but there is no further paint shop investment or in any new warehouses. So any further investment will be product specific,” he said.
The company also “definitely wanted to” produce its NV 350 Impendulo taxi vehicle at the Rosslyn plant.
He stressed the importance of South Africa’s motor industry, as well as sub-Saharan African countries, establishing a regional automotive market.
Imported vehicles
But achieving this would involve stopping the large number of imported vehicles into the region and providing consumers with access to vehicle finance, he said.
“Africa has become the dumping ground for used cars out of Japan and America. In Nigeria, out of a total car market of 800 000 a year, only 40 000 are new cars.
“For the South African motor industry to grow, it can’t just rely on the South African market and it must grow the regional African market.
“South Africa has an established vehicle finance industry and you can get a vehicle financed at maybe 10 percent or 11 percent, but in African countries they only start talking to you at 24 percent or 25 percent. You are not going to buy an asset (with finance) at that interest rate. You are going to save up and buy it cash,” he said.