The South African subsidiary of the German car dealer BMW announced in a release published on November 16, it plans to invest 6 billion rands ($417 million) in its Rosslyn plant (Pretoria suburb), to manufacture its new X3 model.

The X3 is a high-class SUV. This model which is one of BMW’s best represents 28% of the company’s total revenues worldwide.

The BMW X3 models which are going to be manufactured at Rosslyn are destined for the South African Market but also to export. “Production of the next generation of BMW X3 in Rosslyn is to replace that of BMW Series 3 Berline, which is to be transferred to other plants of BMW’s global network,” BMW’s South African subsidiary revealed.

The car industry contributes to 6% of South Africa’s GDP and represents 12% of its exports, since 60% of the firm’s output goes into export.