BAIC South Africa (SA) announced on Friday that the first shipment of vehicle assembly plant equipment for the new automotive manufacturing facility under construction at Coega has arrived in Port Elizabeth.
The R11-billion car plant - a joint initiative between China’s Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC), which is the majority shareholder with a 65% stake, and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) – is South Africa’s largest motor investment in nearly 50 years.
BAIC South Africa announced on Friday that the first shipment of vehicle assembly plant equipment for the new automotive manufacturing facility under construction at Coega has arrived in Port Elizabeth.
The R11-billion car plant, a joint initiative between China’s Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC), which is the majority shareholder with a 65% stake, and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), is South Africa’s largest motor investment in nearly 50 years.
BAIC SA said the equipment was shipped from Tianjin, located in the Northern Coastal mainland of China, late in September 2017.
The shipment comprises components for vehicle assembly, welding and painting plant equipment.
BAIC noted that industry standard equipment, on-line-testing, installation service, logistics and consumable items will be locally procured, accounting for 15% of the total equipment value.
BAIC SA’s head of Marketing and Planning, Gary Yang, said their production lines would be adjustable, enabling them to produce both left and right-hand drive vehicles.
“The assembly line is flexible to handle various body structure vehicle assembly. Our modular engineering design will accommodate a variety of assembly procedures for different models. The painting line is also flexible for various models,” he said.
Yang said that BAIC SA was “on track” with its projected timelines, with a major milestone being completion and installation of assembly shop roof structure.
“The equipment will be installed shortly after the New Year,” he said.
