Nissan and Chery have reached an agreement on the acquisition of Nissan’s manufacturing assets in Rosslyn, Pretoria.
Akio Kon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
- Chery SA is expected to manufacture vehicles in South Africa from 2027, following the purchase of the Nissan facility in Rosslyn, Pretoria North.
- The Chery production could include new-energy derivatives.
- The majority of Nissan employees will be offered employment by Chery SA.
Nissan and Chery SA have reached an agreement on the acquisition of Nissan’s manufacturing assets in Rosslyn, Pretoria North.
Nissan South Africa’s future has been hanging in the balance since the discontinuation of the locally built NP200 bakkie, and due to the Japanese automaker’s significant changes globally as part of its recovery efforts.
Subject to fulfilment and certain conditions, including regulatory approvals, Chery SA will buy the land, buildings and associated assets of the Nissan facilities, including its nearby stamping plant, in mid-2026.
In terms of the agreement, the majority of associated Nissan employees will be offered employment by Chery SA on substantially similar terms and conditions as those in place today.
The Nissan Rosslyn plant has produced numerous models over the years, including a variety of Datsun models in the 1970s; the Nissan 1400 Champ, built exclusively in South Africa from 1971 to 2008; the Fiat Uno; Nissan Primera; and NP300.
In 2018, Nissan invested R3 billion in the Rosslyn facility to prepare the plant for the production of the next-generation Navara alongside the NP200 half-tonne bakkie.
The Nissan Navara is currently being built in South Africa.
Motorpress
The Nissan Rosslyn plant currently produces the Nissan Navara for South African and African consumption via export.
Nissan retailed 319 Navaras in South Africa during December and exported 349. As a comparison, market leader Toyota sold 2 979 of their Durban-built Hilux and exported 7 836, while Ford retailed 2 236 of their Silverton-built Ranger and exported 5 505 in December.
“Nissan has a long and proud history in South Africa and has been working to find the best solution for our people, our customers, and our partners. External factors have had a well-known impact on the utilisation of the Rosslyn plant and its future viability within Nissan,” Nissan Africa president Jordi Villa said.
“Through this agreement, we’re able to secure employment for the majority of our workforce, thereby also preserving opportunities for our supplier network. This move also ensures that the Rosslyn site will continue contributing to the South African automotive sector,” Villa added.
Following Chery SA’s acquisition of the plant, Nissan will continue to offer vehicles and services to customers in South Africa as before, with several new vehicle launches planned for fiscal year 2026, including the Nissan Tekton and Nissan Patrol.
Chery South Africa representatives declined to comment on the investment’s value while awaiting regulatory approvals, but hinted that production of Chery models could commence as early as 2027.
Chery will build new energy vehicles in South Africa as early as 2027.
Those models are still to be announced, but it would make sense for them to concentrate on their volume models, which currently include the Tiggo 4 Pro and Tiggo 7, of which they sold 1 568 and 449, respectively, during December 2025.
Chery has also recently made big strides in developing its new energy vehicles, with a range of hybrid models that address many of the tuning and fuel consumption issues that initially plagued the brand. It is expected that these hybrid models will form part of the local production.
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Chery South Africa currently retails a variety of brands in South Africa, including Omoda, Jaecoo, and Jetour. Chery South Africa is set to add the Lepas brand to their portfolio early in 2026. This will represent the sixth brand under the Chery umbrella in South Africa, alongside the soon-to-be-launched iCaur badged vehicles. Many of these models share platforms and drivetrain components, which could make component or complete-vehicle manufacturing for any of these brands and models easy to achieve.
