Business & Economics
Chery Buys Nissan’s 60-Year-Old Rosslyn Plant, Cementing First Chinese Manufacturing Foothold in South Africa
On 23 Jan 2026, Nissan agreed to sell its Rosslyn assembly and stamping facilities to Chery South Africa, with ownership transferring mid-2026 pending regulators, ending Nissan vehicle production in the country after nearly six decades.
Focusing Facts
- Navara pickup production at Rosslyn will cease in May 2026 ahead of the hand-over.
- The divestment is one of seven factory closures/consolidations in Nissan’s ongoing global restructuring plan.
- Chery Group sold 43,300 vehicles in South Africa in 2025, climbing to 4th place in new-car sales.
Context
Foreign automakers abandoning aging assets to rising industrial powers is not new: in 1979–82 Chrysler sold its Linwood, Scotland plant to Peugeot-Talbot amid its own crisis, only for Peugeot to shut it three years later. Likewise, Japanese firms once used U.S. “transplant” factories in the 1980s to confront trade headwinds; four decades on, Japanese manufacturers now cede space to Chinese rivals who confront over-capacity at home and hunt growth abroad. South Africa’s low car-ownership rate and pending 150 % tax rebate for local new-energy-vehicle investment make it a beach-head for China’s export-led automakers, much as colonial railheads opened commodity corridors a century ago. Whether this moment proves a permanent shift or a footnote will hinge on Africa’s industrial policy and the durability of China’s cost advantage over the next half-century—but it unmistakably signals the first large-scale Chinese production footprint on the continent, foreshadowing a possible realignment of global auto supply chains over the next 100 years.
Perspectives
International business and financial press
e.g., Bloomberg Business, The Japan Times, Nikkei Asia — They frame the sale as fresh proof of Chinese automakers’ surging global power and the retreat of legacy Japanese brands, noting Nissan’s restructuring and over-capacity pressures at home. By stressing a zero-sum ‘Chinese rise vs. Japanese decline’ narrative they may underplay potential local gains or broader market dynamics because their audiences are investors tracking competitive threats.
South African governmental and mainstream local news outlets
e.g., SABC News, Algoa FM, The South African — Coverage welcomes Chery’s purchase as a much-needed foreign investment that preserves jobs and supports national industrial policy in the automotive sector. Reliance on government statements and the promise of job security can lead to an upbeat tone that glosses over concerns such as increased import competition or long-term ownership loss of domestic production assets.
Clean-technology and EV advocacy media
e.g., CleanTechnica — They hail the deal as an opportunity to accelerate South Africa’s shift to plug-in hybrids and EVs, arguing that Chinese brands like Chery are more willing than Nissan to leverage new tax incentives for green vehicles. The pro-electrification lens tends to spotlight environmental upside while downplaying uncertainties about consumer uptake, grid readiness, or the broader economic impact on traditional auto suppliers.