Bobby Cheetham
LEGEND has it that the birth of the nation’s motor industry – and mainstay of the Eastern Cape economy for close to 90 years – took place in a boardroom at the world’s automotive powerhouse of the time, the US city of Detroit.
Henry Ford and his board were considering expansion of their industrial empire. Ford automobiles were already being exported and sold in South Africa.
“Ford wanted to increase sales in the wealthy nation at the tip of Africa, so called for a map of Africa,” motor industry old timers often recalled.
The way to do this, Ford decided, was to start building cars in the south of the massive continent. He stuck the map on the wall, studied it and pointed to a tiny southern spot next to the Indian Ocean,” said ex-Ford employee and retired journalist Bob Kernohan.
Ford was then known to have said: “This place called Port Elizabeth looks pretty good. It’s a port and it’s sort of halfway between Cape Town and Durban and we can send the cars up-country to the goldfields of Johannesburg.”
And so, the decision was made.
Ford established its first local plant in the heart of Port Elizabeth in 1923.Global product communications manager Craig von Essen said from the company’s headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan: “The Herald has been a cornerstone of Port Elizabeth’s proud history over the decades, and played an essential role in documenting and developing the city as South Africa’s automotive hub as early as the 1920s. We wish one of South Africa’s oldest-running newspapers a wonderful anniversary and prosperous future.”
In fact, the city’s rich motor industry history goes way back to 1896 when the first car was imported to South Africa, a two-seater Benz Velo. The car was shipped to Port Elizabeth and was then transported to Pretoria to John Percy Hess, who became the sole agent for Benz Motors in South Africa.
In 1913, Chevrolet vehicles were also distributed in South Africa. Full scale production started in July 1926 when the first Chevy rolled off the assembly line..
“As a company that’s been based in Port Elizabeth since 1926, we have had a relationship with The Herald that spans over eight decades. We wish The Herald success for many more years to come,” said Mario A Spangenberg, president and managing director at General Motors Africa.
The cars which rolled off the GM production lines included Holden Cadillac, La Salle, Oldsmobile, Buick, Chevrolet cars and trucks, GMC and Bed- ford trucks, Opel, Vauxhall and Isuzu bakkies and trucks. Also in later years GMSA produced Suzuki ST 90 and SJ 410 vehicles and the iconic Hummer.
Volkswagen, started operations in April 1951, when the first fully-assembled Volkswagen was sent from Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg factory to South African Motor Assemblers and Distributors (Samad). A second fully assembled Volkswagen was sent from Wolfsburg in that year. It survives to this day and belongs to Dr Johan van Rensburg of Kimberley.
But before that a franchise agreement was signed in 1946 between the South African company Industrial and Commercial Holdings and the Studebaker Export Corporation for the local assembly of Studebaker cars and commercial vehicles. Samad was launched as a public company with an initial authorised share capital of R1-million.
In November 1948 the first Studebaker (a commercial vehicle) rolled off the production line. And a year later, in June 1949, Samad entered into an agreement with Austin Motors of England to assemble Austin vehicles in Uitenhage. In February 1950 the first Austin left the production line. The first locally assembled Volkswagen was driven off the production line in Uitenhage in August 1951.
Volkswagen Group South Africa’s managing director Thomas Schaefer said: “While we have only been here to share 64 of these years with you, we are proud of our association with The Herald over the years and being able to find common ground, in not only sponsorships like the Herald Volkswagen Cycle Tour, but also jointly looking out for and promoting the economic wellbeing of this region.”
Troubled times in the eighties saw Ford close plants and General Motors US selling to local directors. Delta Motor Corporation was formed and traded till GM returned in 2004.
At various times, the city was home to the manufacture of Citroens from France and Land Rovers from the UK.
Apart from the assembly of motor vehicles, Nelson Mandela Bay is home to other industries that provide parts to vehicle manufacturers.