Nissan South Africa Pty Ltd is an
automobile manufacturer based in
Rosslyn,
South Africa, and a
subsidiary of
Nissan.
History
In the 1960s, the brothers Thys and Andries Bekker imported the first
Datsun 1000 pick-up to South Africa.
[M. Compton/ T. J. Gallwey]
Motor Assemblies Limited. A small South African Assembly Plant that became a major Manufacturer
2009.
In 1965, the assembly of Datsun automobiles began at Motor Assemblies.
The
Datsun 1200
The is an automobile built by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1966 to 2006. In the early 1980s, the brand changed from Datsun to Nissan in line with other models by the company. Although production of the Sunny in Japan ended in 2006, the na ...
was the first Japanese passenger car to be imported in South Africa in 1966.
Other sources cite the year 1959.
["South African Automotive Policy Evolution", in: , S. 6271.]
Rosslyn Motor Assemblers
After the assembly plant Motor Assemblies, in which models of different brands were produced, was taken over by Toyota end of 1964, it came to the founding of the ''Rosslyn Motor Assemblers Ltd.'' and to the construction of an assembly plant mainly for Datsun models in
Rosslyn.
Opened in 1966, the factory was initially a free assembly plant for the South African market, as the Bekker brothers awarded the Nissan concession to the mining company ''Messina Transvaal'', which was interested in a greater diversification of the assembly.
Other sources name the year 1965 as the opening year.
Renamings
The company was renamed Datsun Nissan South Africa Ltd. in 1973 and, according to one source, focused on the sole production of Nissan products sold under the Datsun brand.
[Waclaw Pózar/Eligiusz Mazur (Hg.), ''World of Cars'' 2005/2006, (PDF, 21 MB).] Ten years later (1983) the name of the company was changed to Nissan SA.
Automakers SA
With the start of production of the
Fiat Uno
The Fiat Uno is a supermini manufactured and marketed by Fiat. Launched in 1983, the Uno was produced over a single generation (with an intermediate facelift, 1989) in three and five-door hatchback body styles until 1995 in Europe — and unt ...
in 1988, a new parent company called ''Automakers SA Ltd.'' was founded.
[Rechard Noor]
Systems approach to decentralising power for organisational effectiveness
Kapstadt 1997. This company was located in
Sandton. In one source, this company is also referred to as ''Nissan Automakers SA''.
In the year 2000 (or already 1997
[, Pressemitteilung der Nissan Motor Company vom 21. September 1998.]),
Nissan acquired a 37% stake in Automakers SA Ltd. One year later, the name was changed to ''Nissan South Africa Pty. Ltd.''.
The Rosslyn plant employs around 2,000 people.
Models
In addition to Datsun models that were produced between 1967 and 1973, vehicles of the
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." "A ...
brand were also produced. Added to this were
Rambler vehicles (January 1968 to 1969) and Renault models (from 1968).
In the next few years, the product range was supplemented by vehicles from the brands
Peugeot
Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis.
The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then ...
and
Citroën
Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired ...
.
From 1971 to 2008, the pick-up model
Nissan 1400 was built exclusively in South Africa (initially as Datsun 1200, then as Datsun 120Y or 1400).
[Henrie Geyser]
Nissan's little champ bows out
in: BizCommunity vom 21. Juli 2008.[Nissan celebrates as NP200 keeps Rosslyn plant humming](_blank)
Artikel vom 2. Februar 2015. In total, around 275,000 copies of the Nissan 1400 were sold.
Other models made only in South Africa were the Datsun 140Z (mid-1970s) and the
Datsun 160Z (1978-1980).
From 1990 (or 1988) to 2005, the
Fiat Uno
The Fiat Uno is a supermini manufactured and marketed by Fiat. Launched in 1983, the Uno was produced over a single generation (with an intermediate facelift, 1989) in three and five-door hatchback body styles until 1995 in Europe — and unt ...
was manufactured.
The end of production is also stated in 2004.
Other Fiat models produced by Nissan South Africa have been the
Fiat Palio
The Fiat Palio is a supermini car which was produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1996 until 2018. It is a world car, developed by Fiat Automóveis and aimed at developing countries. It has been produced in various countries worldwide ...
(since 1999), the
Fiat Siena
The Fiat Siena is a subcompact car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1996 to 2022. It is the four-door sedan version of the Fiat Palio, a supermini car especially designed for developing countries. It was introduced for the first ...
(since 2000) and the
Fiat Strada
The Fiat Strada is a supermini coupé utility produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat since 1998. It is based on Fiat's world car "project 178", the Palio. It is produced by Fiat Automóveis in Brazil, and has been marketed worldwide, exclud ...
(since 2005).
The assembly agreement with Fiat was due to expire in 2008.
The production of
Nissan Primera began in the late 1990s.
The pickup models NP200 and NP300 as well as the
Nissan Livina and the
Sandero of the Alliance partner
Renault are currently under construction.
[Nissan South Africa: Taking South African productivity to the world’s markets](_blank)
Meldung auf ''the SA mag''.[, Pressemitteilung der Nissan Motor Corporation vom 25. Februar 2013.]
In the years 1976 to 1978 (or 1976 and 1978
), with its brand ''Datsun'', Nissan was the leading supplier in South Africa.
In 2014, Nissan had the second largest market share in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa).
[Liezel Hill /
Matthew Winkler]
Nissan Plans to Double South Africa Output With New Model
Meldung auf Bloomberg.com vom 11. November 2015.
Current Models
*
Nissan Almera (Third Generation)
*
Nissan X-Trail (Third Generation)
*
Nissan Magnite
*
Nissan NP200
*
Nissan Navara
*
Nissan Magnite
*
Nissan Patrol
The is a series of full-size SUVs manufactured by Nissan in Japan and sold throughout the world.
The Patrol has been available as either a short-wheelbase (SWB) three-door or a long-wheelbase (LWB) five-door chassis since 1951. The LWB versio ...
Upcoming Models
There's only one Nissan model that was confirmed to be released in the South African market
*
Nissan Qashqai
References
External links
*
{{Automotive industry in South Africa
Nissan
Car manufacturers of South Africa
Manufacturing companies based in the City of Tshwane
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1966
1966 establishments in South Africa
South African subsidiaries of foreign companies