• BAIC will start assembling its new B30 SUV in South Africa in January 2025
• The move expands the Chinese group’s lineup as it diversifies beyond its home market
• Pretoria seeks more local assembly to revive an auto industry facing job losses

Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC) plans to begin assembling its new B30 off-road SUV in January 2025 at its plant in Gqeberha, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. The announcement, reported by several media outlets and attributed to the group’s chief financial officer, marks a new step in strengthening the Chinese automaker’s production in Africa.

The plant currently assembles the BAIC B40 Plus and Beijing X55 Plus models. With the B30, BAIC confirms its plan to widen its range and consolidate its footprint on the continent, at a time when Chinese automakers are seeking new markets as a price war intensifies at home. As Europe and the United States tighten trade restrictions on Chinese brands, groups such as BAIC, BYD, Great Wall Motors (GWM), and Chery see Africa as a strategic diversification channel.

Nearly 20 Chinese automakers are already active in South Africa in assembly and distribution, alongside long-established players such as Volkswagen, Toyota, and Mercedes-Benz. This presence reflects Beijing’s ambition to become a key player in local automotive production in the continent’s leading industrial economy.

According to BAIC, the new B30 models, offered in both gasoline and hybrid versions, will be assembled locally under the completely knocked down (CKD) method, which involves producing vehicles from separate components. This approach encourages the use of local parts and helps create jobs across the supply chain. The strategy aligns with the South African government’s goal of supporting the national automotive industry, which has slowed in recent years.

In August 2024, Trade Minister Parks Tau said that 12 companies had shut down operations over the past two years, leading to the loss of more than 4,000 jobs. In 2024, 515,850 locally produced vehicles were sold in the country, well below the 784,509-unit target set by the South Africa Automotive Masterplan 2035. Despite industrialization efforts, imports still account for 64 % of the market, a gap that authorities aim to reduce through more incentives for local assembly.