Automotive

Stanger will host a new battery factory.

Credit: Toyota

More than 3 000 jobs will be created by battery manufacturer Metair as it responds to the winning of a big contract from Ford Motor Company South Africa. Stanger in northern KwaZulu-Natal will be the site of a new factory and a further investment in logistics will take place in Gauteng.

KwaZulu-Natal has a substantial automotive components sector which includes large manufacturers such as GUD Filters. Thirtynine companies are currently members of the Durban Automotive Cluster which is funded by the municipality. Together, these firms have about 17 000 employees.

In line with the policy of developing Industrial Economic Hubs, the Durban Automotive Supplier Park is being built at Illovo, south of Durban and near to the Toyota manufacturing plant. The Dube TradePort Corporation will manage the project, which covers 1 013ha. Other partners are the eThekwini Municipality, Toyota and the provincial government.

Toyota’s plant, just a few kilometres south of the harbour at Prospecton, has received a R2.4-billion investment to produce a new passenger vehicle. The Corolla Cross (pictured) will start production in the final quarter of 2021. A sports-utility vehicle, the Cross will also be available as a hybrid.

Toyota sells about a quarter of the vehicles sold in South Africa, and accounts for the same proportion of export volumes. The company’s total investment of R4.2-billion between 2019 and 2021 includes other manufacturing projects and a huge increase in warehousing capabilities.

The other large-scale original equipment manufacturer in the province is Bell Equipment. Between the Toyota plant and the Richards Bay facility of heavyequipment manufacturer Bell Equipment, upwards of 11 000 people are employed.

Another manufacturer of earthmoving equipment can be found at Port Shepstone on the south coast. Dezzi is part of the Desmond Group of companies that was founded in 1973 and now has 18 offices and branches. The Dezzi CMI backhoe loader is a popular part of the company’s range.

In 2018 AIH Logistics started assembling Mahindra and Bolero bakkies from kits imported from India on a site at the Dube TradePort. The 5 000m² plant is owned by Automotive Investment Holdings (AIH), which formed AIH Logistics specifically to deal with the Mahindra contract. The intention is to make 2 500 bakkies per year, with an option to expand production to 4 000 and to increase sales of bakkies in the South African market.

The Mathe Group’s tyre recycling plant at Hammarsdale has quickly increased capacity to 150 000 used truck tyres per year and intends going past 200 000 soon. Other applications include modified bitumen and as a component of artificial grass. ■

ONLINE RESOURCES

Automotive Industry Development Centre: www.aidc.co.za Durban Automotive Cluster: www.dbnautocluster.org.za National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (NAACAM): www.naacam.co.za SECTOR INSIGHT Toyota is to start producing a sports-utility vehicle in 2021.