Beijing Automotive Works (BAW) and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) will invest R250-million to expand and upgrade BAW’s minibus taxi plant in Springs, Gauteng.

The facility currently assembles the Sasuka 16-seater taxi from semi-knocked-down kits for the South and Southern African market.

The expansion of the facility will see BAW South Africa (SA) assemble the Sasuka from completely knocked-down kits (CKD), from March next year.

Apart from a general upgrade of the plant and facilities, the investment will enable the construction of a new body assembly plant, paint plant, a trim plant, a larger component warehouse to support full production and a new parts and accessories warehouse.

Capacity at the plant, on a single shift, will be 500 units a month.

The expansion is expected to create an additional 100 permanent jobs in positions ranging from production to quality assurance, logistics, after-sales, marketing and management.

The plant is a joint venture between BAW (51%), the IDC (24.5%) and James Chung’s Golden Gate Trust (24.5%).

Speaking at the sod-turning ceremony earlier this month, BAW SA consultant Tony Godycki, of AG Consulting, said the more complex CKD assembly process would increase local content on the minibus taxi to at least 35%, which would see the Sasuka qualify for duty benefits in terms of exports to countries in Southern Africa.

Local CKD assembly would also lead to duty-free importation of Sasuka kits into South Africa.

Godycki said BAW SA already sourced components such as brake pads, springs and filters locally and would look to add parts such as glass, tyres, radiators and seats to the list.

IDC CEO Geoffrey Qhena said the IDC supported the opportunity to introduce more competition into the local taxi industry.

The industry is currently dominated by the Toyota Quantum, assembled in Durban.

The BAW assembly facility was established in 2012, with an initial investment of R196-million.

New Products Planned
The Sasuka is available with a 2.7 ℓ petrol engine.

BAW planned to introduce a 2.8 ℓ diesel engine variant next month, noted BAW SA CEO Zhang Wei.

He added that the Sasuka was sold with a 500 000 km service plan as standard, as well as insurance that covered the vehicle and passengers.

Wei said there already were BAW taxis operating in South Africa which had notched up more than 500 000 km on the clock.

BAW has become directly involved in customer finance through the formation of its own finance company.

Wei said BAW was investigating the possibility of introducing a panel van, as well as an electric minibus onto the local market.

China in SA
The Chinese embassy’s Lian Zhaoshan, of the Economic and Commercial Counsellor’s office, said bilateral trade between South Africa and China totalled $9.145-billion in the first three months of 2017, which was a 28.3% increase on the previous year.

To date, he added, around 150 large and medium-sized Chinese businesses had invested in South Africa.