BEIJING: Chery Automobile Co, China's top car exporter, agreed to buy Nissan Motor Co's vehicle-manufacturing plant in South Africa, the latest evidence of the growing global dominance of Chinese brands.
Chery will buy the land, buildings and associated assets of Nissan facilities in Rosslyn, Pretoria, including the nearby stamping plant that's used to make body parts such as doors, it said in a statement.
The transaction will take place in mid-2026, subject to conditions.
The move is the latest - and most significant - marker of Chinese auto manufacturers' growing presence in South Africa, the largest economy on the continent.
That comes at the cost of more established players from Japan, the US and Europe, which have lost market share to cheaper imports from China and India.
Due to an agreement with Chery, Nissan would not to disclose the value of the transaction, it said.
The Rosslyn plant dates back to the 1960s, and produced vehicles including pick-ups that became popular locally.
The Chinese carmarker overtook Suzuki Motor Corp as the second-biggest passenger-car seller in South Africa in December, just four years after re-entering the market.
The nation is strategic because it offers entry into the region under the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement, Tony Liu, chief executive of Chery's local unit, said in an interview in October.
Africa has a similar population size to India, and "still has the biggest potential to grow in the next decades," he said. "The population is young and we think it has great potential."
Liu declined to comment on Friday's announcement when contacted by phone.
The sale is part of Nissan's broad restructuring as the Japanese carmaker tries to rebound from its worst financial crisis in decades.
As well as shutting factories, the company is cutting 20,000 jobs, reducing production and has even sold its headquarters.
Chery's acquisition underscores Chinese manufacturers' aggressive expansion plans as they face slowing momentum and overcapacity at home.
They're already winning greater share of Europe's EV market, despite tariffs, by offering software-heavy cars at prices legacy automakers struggle to match.
South Africa also offers Chery an entry point into a small but growing market in the continent that has among the world's lowest car-ownership levels.
Any change of ownership of the plant should protect jobs, National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa General Secretary Irvin Jim said.
Nissan "has been having difficulties," he said by phone. "As a result, we should be positive if there's a company that takes it over, and there's an investment."
He repeated calls for government to increase tariffs on companies "dumping" imported cars on the local market.
