German car manufacturer Mercedes Benz says it is expanding its production operations in South Africa by investing 10bn rand ($700m; £529m) to “equip it for the future”.
The plant in the coastal city of East London currently employs 3,300 people, most of whom work in passenger vehicle production. It was first opened in 1958, and in 2017 the plant’s production volume reached 110,000 vehicles.
“We are hoping that this investment here will lead to further investments by components manufacturers – we estimate that will bring a further 2bn rand investment,” said South Africa’s trade minister Rob Davies.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said he wanted the announcement to send a signal to other international investors that “South Africa is capable of delivering efficiency”, adding:
“We are glad that we have partners like Mercedes Benz. This 10bn rand must not be the last. We want to see more.”
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