South Africa is home to several different car factories, featuring well-known brands from Ford and Toyota to Isuzu, VW, Nissan, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz.
However, there is one more automaker that has set up on our shores that traces its roots to China.
The company in question BAIC (Beijing Automotive Group), a state-owned enterprise from the People’s Republic that features several sub-brands, including Beijing and Foton.
BAIC established a factory in South Africa in 2018, which is located in the Coega Industrial Development Zone outside Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape.
The vehicle assembly plant represents an R11-billion investment and has a claimed production capacity of 50,000 units per annum.
The facility’s completion was celebrated by none other than South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who unveiled the site’s first car at an event in Gauteng – a BAIC X25 crossover.
The X25, along with the D20 hatchback, were the first two models to come off the assembly line at the Eastern Cape plant, but both of these units were discontinued at the start of 2023.
Since then, there have been few communications regarding the factory’s ongoing operations, though an update posted to BAIC’s local website in March 2024 claims that production of the Beijing X55 “has been fully launched, with sufficient spare parts and guaranteed market demand.”
The X55, which comes from BAIC’s Beijing crossover sub-brand, was launched in South Africa in 2022 and was met with positive reception, going on to win the “Compact Family” category in the 2023 South Africa Car of the Year Awards.
However, the vehicle is not actually in production at the moment, as the carmaker clarified at a recent event that the X55 would be produced from knock-down kits brought in from China once approval is received from its parent company.
Render of the BAIC South Africa factory. Source: The People’s Map of Global China
The Beijing is not the only model that will be built in South Africa, as Foton has ambitions to construct a vehicle here as well.
Foton, another subsidiary of BAIC, recently made its local re-introduction with Tunland G7 bakkie, which it now plans to build at the Coega factory.
The bakkie brand has an elaborate roadmap for South Africa, starting a first phase that will see the introduction of other light commercial vehicles from now until the end of 2026.
Phase two’s goal is to expand the BAIC plant to support a new assembly line for the G7, which will take place between 2027 and 2029.
South African-made Chinese cars
These are the Chinese cars that will be built at the BAIC factory in South Africa.
Click on the underlined prices for more information.
BAIC Beijing X55
- Starting price – R429,900
- Number of models – 3
- Engine – 1.5-litre turbo-petrol
- Power – 130kW/305Nm
- Fuel consumption – 7.2l/100km
Foton Tunland G7 (From 2027)
- Starting price – R319,900
- Number of models – 6
- Engine – 2.0-litre turbo-diesel
- Power – 120kW/390Nm
- Fuel consumption – 7.4l/100km
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