Nissan expands Navara production to South Africa

Japanese brand upgrades Rosslyn facility to manufacture its popular ute, joining the NP200 and NP300 pickups at the site.

Nissan has announced it will commence production of the Navara at its South African factory from 2020.

Joining the current NP200 and NP300 (an old-gen Navara sold in developing markets) at the Rosslyn site, the new Navara will add an annual output of 30,000 units to the facility’s existing 35,000 volume.

The company says the move has created an additional shift at the plant, which will create around 1200 new jobs when the Navara’s assembly line goes live in 2020.

In addition to the extra output, the investment in Navara production at the Rosslyn facility will add new, more modern technologies to the plant, including flexible production lines, as well as training and up-skilling of staff.

Mike Whitfield, managing director for Nissan Group of Africa, said: “The new Navara is the perfect model for South Africa and our workforce is ready to build it, supported crucially by the government’s Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP)”.

“Vehicles already account for around 14% of total exports from South Africa. Navara production will allow us to expand Rosslyn’s role as an export hub for Light Commercial Vehicles and contribute further to the local automotive sector, fully in line with the goals in the next phase of the APDP.”