Mercedes pumps R3bn in SA plant

Mercedes-Benz Cars has invested a further R3 billion in South Africa to boost its investment in the country to R13 billion for the production of the new generation C-Class at its production plant in East London.

Jörg Burzer, the member of the board of Mercedes-Benz Cars responsible for production and supply chain management, announced the investment on Thursday at an event at Mercedes-Benz SA’s plant in East London to celebrate the commencement of production of the new C-Class.

The company announced the initial R10 billion investment in SA at the Presidential Investment Summit in 2018.

Burzer said SA is an important location in the global Mercedes-Benz production network and the new C-Class is only being built in two other plants – Bremen, Germany and Beijing, China. “With our additional investment of R3 billion in the East London plant, we underline our commitment to contributing to the South African economy and the Eastern Cape region,” he said, adding that MercedesBenz has 4 000 employees in East London and an additional about 600 new jobs have been created by the investment.

The investment has also secured or created 2 000 jobs in Mercedes-Benz’s supply base in SA. “This underlines how important the investment is that we have made in East London”.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel said the launch of the new C-Class positions Buffalo City and the rest of Eastern Cape to continue its legacy of advanced manufacturing.

“Through the SA Automotive Masterplan, and the Automotive Production and Development Programme, we’ve created a platform for investment in the industry, deepening our technological expertise, creating local value chains and securing jobs,” said Patel.

The Automotive Industry Export Council said last month the automotive sector remains one of the most visible sectors receiving foreign direct investments, with the seven original equipment manufacturers investing a record R9.2 billion in 2020. –