BMW South Africa (Pty) Ltd. is an automobile manufacturer based in
Rosslyn,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
. The company is part of the
BMW group.
History
As early as 1929, the first BMW motorcycle was imported to South Africa by a private individual.
The first cars of the brand in 1952 was a
BMW 501
The BMW 501 was a luxury car manufactured by BMW from 1952 to 1958. Introduced at the first Frankfurt Motor Show in 1951, the 501 was the first BMW model to be manufactured and sold after the Second World War, and as the first BMW car built in ...
.
However, the assembly of BMW automobiles did not begin until 1968 by Praetor Monteerders in Rosslyn.
The company also assembled
Jeep models. In 1970, BMW bought shares in Praetor Monteerders to completely take it over in 1975, thus establishing BMW South Africa, and was also the first BMW plant outside of Germany.
After an investment of 3.5 billion
rand
The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is finan ...
at the beginning of the new millennium, the Rosslyn plant was regarded as the most modern automobile plant in the southern hemisphere.
[Norman Lamprecht]
The impact of the Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP) on the export strategies of the South African light motor vehicle manufacturers (1995–2008)
Dissertation an der Universität von Südafrika, Pretoria 2009.
Models
The first models produced were the BMW 1800 SA (from 1968) or 2000 SA (from 1969) derived from the
Glas 1700
The Glas 1700 is a middle class four door saloon produced by Hans Glas GmbH at Dingolfing. The prototype was first presented (at this stage as the ''Glas 1500'') in September 1963 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Later versions of the coupé and cabr ...
.
[Ulrich Thieme]
BMW 1800 SA und BMW 2000 SA
auf e12.de. First, the assembly took place from CKD-kits, which were sent to the production facilities to South Africa. In 1973, the optically revised models 1804 and 2004 followed, which were only built for one year.
From 1974, the
BMW 5 Series
The BMW 5 Series is an executive car manufactured and marketed by BMW since 1972, succeeding the New Class Sedans, and currently in its seventh generation.
The 5 Series was initially available as a sedan, with a wagon/estate body style (market ...
was produced in South Africa from CKD kits.
[Ulrich Thieme]
BMW Südafrika
auf e12.de. This series existed until 1985, after which the interior and the engines of the new series
E28 were received from 1982.
The new series E28 was also replaced later than in Germany (1989) by the series
E34, which was the last 5 Series produced in South Africa.
Production of the
BMW 745i began in 1983.
The vehicle was powered by the 3.5-liter engine of the BMW M1 and at the time was the fastest BMW 7 in the world. By 1986, 192 vehicles of this type were to be manufactured.
The BMW 333i with 6 cylinders and 3.2 L displacement produced from 1986 (according to another source 1985 to 1987
) was also only produced in South Africa.
It emerged in this type with 204 to 215 vehicles.
[Andrew Everett: ''BMW E30 Restoration Bible'', London 2012.]
South African BMW 3 Series models have also been exported to Australia since 1994 and to other countries since 1999.
After the take over of the
Rover Group
The Rover Group plc was the British vehicle manufacturing conglomerate known as "BL plc" until 1986 (formerly British Leyland), which had been a state-owned company since 1975. It initially included the Austin Rover Group car business (comprisi ...
, the marketing and producing of
Land Rover
Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers ...
vehicles began.
In South Africa, the BMW Group has the largest market share outside Germany, with 7.8% (2006).
In 2011, around three quarters of production was exported.
Manufacturing Facilities. Rosslyn Plant.
BMW South Africa. The production was limited to the 3 series.[Charles Cornew]
African adventures
in: ''Automotive Manufacturing Solutions'' 4. November 2014.
Since 2018, the X3 (G01) series has been manufactured in Rosslyn (in addition to the production in Spartanburg). At the same time, the production of the 3 series ended after 1,191,604 copies and five model generations.
Car of the Year
BMW models have already been named Car of the Year Car of the Year (COTY) is a common abbreviation for numerous automotive awards.
The "Car of the Year" phrase is considered to have been introduced by ''Motor Trend'' magazine in 1949 when the new publication named Cadillac as Motor Trend Car of the ...
by the South African Motor Journalists Association (SAGMJ) seven times.[Small Beginnings, Big Dreams](_blank)
BMW South Africa.
* 1988: BMW 735i
* 1990: BMW 525i
* 1993: BMW 316i
* 1997: BMW 528i
* 2001: BMW 320d
* 2006: BMW 3 Series
* 2011: BMW 530d
References
External links
Official Website
{{Authority control
BMW
Car manufacturers of South Africa
Manufacturing companies based in the City of Tshwane
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1975
South African companies established in 1975
South African subsidiaries of foreign companies