Home / Features / The two new bakkies that will be built in South Africa

The two new bakkies that will be built in South Africa

Two different auto brands have recently announced their intention to create their own bakkie factories right here in South Africa.

The first is Stellantis, which is the world’s third-largest car producer by volume, while the other is Foton, a Chinese firm that only just re-opened its doors in our market.

The gateway to Africa

Starting with Stellantis, it is the parent company of no less than 14 different car brands, one of which is the French manufacturer Peugeot.

While bakkies may not be the first thing that many people associate with the badge, as it is better known for its city cars like the 208 hatchback, Peugeot does have a double cab in its inventory known as the Landtrek.

Stellantis announced its plans to develop a factory in South Africa in early 2023, though it initially did not divulge which model would be produced here.

Since then, it has confirmed that it will build the Peugeot bakkie at its new facility, which will be located at the Coega Special Economic Zone outside Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape.

The project has already advanced past the preliminary stage, as the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) finished preparing the work site for construction by removing or relocating the local fauna and flora in June.

The automaker will break ground on the new factory soon and is scheduled to complete construction by the end of 2025, after which the first units will roll off the production queue by early 2026.

As for the bakkie itself, the Landtrek currently consists of two upmarket double cabs known as the Allure and 4Action, though the company plans to introduce a new single cab and a lower-spec manual double cab to widen the vehicle’s appeal and break into the light commercial market.

The plan represents a R3-billion investment from Stellantis, which is part of a much broader strategy to expand its influence in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.

“As part of our strategy for Dare Forward 2030 we will support our pickup market for the Stellantis region with manufacturing within the MEA region,” said Deidre Du Plessis, Head of Corporate Communications at Stellantis South Africa.

“Based on the strong and consistent automotive policy and the well-established pickup component supply base in South Africa and potential of the pickup market in Africa, we felt South Africa is ideally suited for our new industrial operation in the region.”

The conglomerate hopes to achieve a production capacity of one million units in the MEA region by 2030 and estimates that 40% of the Landtrek units it produces in South Africa will be bought locally, while the others will be primarily exported to the Middle East.

The other brand with big plans on the horizon is Foton, which re-entered South Africa this June with the launch of the Tunland G7.

This is the same bakkie that the Chinese automaker plans to construct here as part of an elaborate three-stage process to expand into Africa.

The first phase, running from now until the end of 2026, will see the introduction of other models including more bakkies, vans, and commercial trucks of varying sizes.

Even more interesting, however, is the second phase, which will take place between 2027 and 2029, ushering in the creation of another pickup factory.

Foton is owned by another Chinese firm, BAIC, which already has an R11-billion complex in South Africa producing the Beijing X55 crossover.

Render of the BAIC South Africa factory. Source: The People’s Map of Global China

The goal is to expand this facility, which also happens to be located in the Coega Special Economic Zone, to develop the Tunland G7 as well.

The 540,000m² plant has a production capacity of 50,000 units per annum, and this is expected to increase to 100,000 in phase two to accommodate BAIC and Foton’s plans for expansion.

Foton described South Africa as a “lighthouse market” that will give it access to the rest of Africa, and the Tunland is its first step to becoming a leading brand in the continent’s light commercial sector.

It stands a good chance of becoming a top seller, too, as the G7 is one of the most affordable bakkies to hit the scene in some time, consisting of six units with prices ranging from R319,900 to R599,900.

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