Nissan South Africa has expressed optimism about the future of the automotive manufacturing industry in South Africa.
This is the view of Nissan South Africa’ s manufacturing director Joan Busquets, who with a 27-year career at Nissan, joined the South African operation two years ago from Nissan Europe where he is credited with turning around the region’s Barcelona light commercial vehicle (LCV) plant – now a top Renault-Nissan Alliance operation.
“We are investing in new plant infrastructure and innovative Nissan technologies at our Rosslyn plant to make sure our vehicles always meet global standards in terms of quality and cost,” says Busquets.
“Nissan SA is introducing on-site suppliers which will also have the added benefits of reducing logistics time and cost,” says Busquets.
Currently, Nissan’s factory in Rosslyn, near Pretoria produces the NP200 half-tonne bakkie and NP300 Hardbody one-tonner, but managing director of Nissan Group of Africa, Mike Whitfield, confirmed earlier this year that the production facility would eventually also build the new Navara.
Nissan states that it ‘envisages growth in Sub Saharan Africa and conditions that support Nissan’s Africa strategy to become a leading LCV and passenger brand on the continent.’