The head of GWM in South Africa says the Chinese brand is still “pursing” local production after losing a bid for Nissan’s Rosslyn plant to the Chery Group…
- GWM lost bid for Nissan’s Rosslyn plant to Chery
- COO says he still sees “opportunity” for SA facility
- Firm “keeping an eye” on SA’s policy developments
GWM South Africa says it’s still “pursuing” local production after losing a bid for Nissan’s Rosslyn factory to fellow Chinese automaker Chery.
In January 2026, Nissan confirmed it had reached an agreement with the Chery Group regarding the sale of the facility, including all land, buildings and associated assets. By July, the Chinese firm had taken ownership of the 60-year-old facility in Gauteng.
Conrad Groenewald, Chief Operating Officer of GWM South Africa, confirmed during a wide-ranging interview on the Cars.co.za BizCars podcast ahead of DealerCon 2026 that his firm had also been in the running for the Rosslyn facility.
When asked whether local manufacturing was still on GWM SA’s radar, Groenewald – who joined the company in 2022 after spending more than 25 years at Ford – said: “It’s a sad point and it’s a bit of a sour point at the moment”, adding that GWM “did also pitch for the Nissan plant” but “unfortunately lost that to a competitor in the industry”.
“We’ve got [manufacturing] facilities in South America, we’ve got facilities in Asia, we’ve got facilities in Thailand. South Africa pitched [against] Europe for a manufacturing facility – we unfortunately lost that to Bulgaria,” he added, suggesting “export volume into Europe” was a key consideration in the Baoding-based company’s final investment decision.
“Hopefully with the next round of investment we can be back with the [GWM] board talking about manufacturing facilities at the tip of Africa. It is challenging with APDP [the Automotive Production Development Programme] and MIDP [the Motor Industry Development Programme that preceded APDP] and all of the policies in South Africa,” Groenewald said.
“It would have been nice if we could have supported the African market out of South Africa. But I think there’s still opportunity in South Africa for a manufacturing facility. We’re just waiting to see what happens with APDP2 [phase 2 of the programme] and what the update on that policy will be and then the investment opportunity that will unfold from that.
“We’re pursuing it and we’re definitely keeping an eye on the policy and policy development,” Groenewald said, before cautioning that the current cost differences between importing vehicles from China versus building them in South Africa were “marginal”, based on GWM’s recent business plan study.
“The biggest thing the South African market needs to realise is that the world’s running fully automated plants. The need in South Africa at the moment is for manual plants – for job creation – which does not give you the efficiency of global plants. So, when these policies are being developed, I hope they take that into [account] and that the policies are of such a nature that we can compete with the rest of the world,” he concluded.
In October 2025, Groenewald revealed to Cars.co.za that the Chinese firm’s local division was bidding to build a new model codenamed “EC15”. A year prior, Desmond Els, Sales Director at GWM SA, told us that local production was “definitely a consideration” for the brand, though emphasised that any such plans were then still in their infancy.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Did GWM bid for Nissan’s Rosslyn manufacturing plant in South Africa?
A: Yes, GWM South Africa confirmed it pitched for Nissan’s Rosslyn facility, but lost the bid to the Chery Group, which officially took ownership of the plant in July 2026.
Q: Is GWM still considering local vehicle production in South Africa?
A: Yes, GWM SA’s Chief Operating Officer stated to Cars.co.za the company is still pursuing local assembly opportunities and keeping an eye on APDP2 policy developments for future investment rounds.
Q: Why did GWM select Bulgaria over South Africa for its European export facility?
A: South Africa pitched against Bulgaria for a GWM manufacturing facility, but lost seemingly due to export volume logistics into the European market, policy complexities and global plant efficiency factors.
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