Photo: Nissan
Having set its sights on doubling the sales figures in markets across Africa, the Middle East and India, Japanese carmaker Nissan announced on Wednesday a new manufacturing hub in South Africa for the Navara pickup.
Nissan operates one factory in the country, in Rosslyn, Pretoria, where it assembles two other pickups, the NP200 and NP300. The site in in charge with building around 35,000 of these models per year. The addition of the Navara is likely to nearly double the output.
To get the facility in shape for production of the new model, the carmaker will invest millions for upgrades and additions, in a move that is likely to create the need for an additional shift at the plant. This shift will likely require an extra 1,200 workers.
Production of the Navara in Rosslyn is scheduled to begin in 2020, meaning for the 2021 model year of the nameplate.
“We already have a strong industrial footprint in Africa including plants in Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and a planned facility in Algeria,” said in a statement Peyman Kargar, chairman for the Nissan division that handles operations in Africa, the Middle East, and India.
“Today's announcement highlights the continuing evolution of Africa as one of the most important global markets. In South Africa, this is supported by the government's creation of a stable environment for long-term investment."
The Nissan Navara is known in the Americas as the Frontier and has been introduced to the range in 1997 in response to an increasing demand for pickups. In terms of sales, the model does not stand out in a crowd of other Nissans, but the nameplate seems to be at the center of future strategies for the Japanese.
In the U.S., for instance, there were nearly 80,000 Frontier sold last year, about six times less the Chevrolet Silverado, according to figures compiled by Carsalesbase.com. Global sales totaled 231,435 units in 2018.
To get the facility in shape for production of the new model, the carmaker will invest millions for upgrades and additions, in a move that is likely to create the need for an additional shift at the plant. This shift will likely require an extra 1,200 workers.
Production of the Navara in Rosslyn is scheduled to begin in 2020, meaning for the 2021 model year of the nameplate.
“We already have a strong industrial footprint in Africa including plants in Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and a planned facility in Algeria,” said in a statement Peyman Kargar, chairman for the Nissan division that handles operations in Africa, the Middle East, and India.
“Today's announcement highlights the continuing evolution of Africa as one of the most important global markets. In South Africa, this is supported by the government's creation of a stable environment for long-term investment."
The Nissan Navara is known in the Americas as the Frontier and has been introduced to the range in 1997 in response to an increasing demand for pickups. In terms of sales, the model does not stand out in a crowd of other Nissans, but the nameplate seems to be at the center of future strategies for the Japanese.
In the U.S., for instance, there were nearly 80,000 Frontier sold last year, about six times less the Chevrolet Silverado, according to figures compiled by Carsalesbase.com. Global sales totaled 231,435 units in 2018.
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