GWM hunts South Africa factory after losing out to Chery

Great Wall Motor (GWM) is weighing local manufacturing options in South Africa, with regional executives confirming discussions with Mercedes-Benz over potential use of its East London plant and separate—unsuccessful—talks with Nissan, as well as interest in acquiring an existing facility outright. Managing Director Kevin Li said contract assembly, acquisition, and plant-sharing all remain live options, with a new greenfield build ruled out on the basis of time.

GWM was outbid by Chery for Nissan’s Rosslyn plant back in January 2026, which the rival automaker has agreed to acquire ahead of a planned mid-2026 transition. That deal has sharpened the urgency for GWM, which currently holds around 5% of the South African market and ranks sixth in total vehicle sales. This is a strong position by the standards of newer entrants, but one that local production would consolidate more firmly given the cost advantages Chery stands to gain.

Regional Chief Operating Officer Conrad Groenewald said the automaker is still assessing which model it would build locally, identifying a global product internally codenamed EC15 as his preference on the basis of its export potential and scope for localisation. “I think that’s a better product, giving us more opportunity for localisation and for potential exports into Europe,” he told reporters at a local launch event. GWM also plans to meet South African government officials during the upcoming annual auto show in Shanghai.

Mercedes-Benz South Africa declined to comment to Reuters on future production planning but noted that its East London plant had previously assembled vehicles for multiple brands and that customer and market requirements are “constantly changing”. The plant’s previous chief executive told the outlet in 2025 that there was technically no reason co-production could not happen again, lending some credibility to GWM’s stated interest.

The manufacturing race among Chinese OEMs in South Africa appears to be accelerating quickly. Beyond GWM and Chery, BAIC already operates a localised assembly facility in Gqeberha and began CKD production of its B30 SUV earlier in 2026, while national electric vehicle giant BYD is expanding its dealer network to 35 sites and rolling out fast-charging infrastructure nationwide. 

Whether or not it can establish a local production footprint, GWM is taking regional expansion serious. The automaker launched a plug-in hybrid variant of the Haval H6 earlier in the week commencing 16 March, competing in a segment where Chinese players are competing hard against better-established—but more expensive and often less feature-rich—Japanese and European hybrids.