BMW SA to donate BMW X3s to local NGOs and universities

BMW Group South Africa is celebrating the start of production of the BMW X3 in South Africa by donating 20 locally built BMW X3s worth more than R15m to selected educational establishments and NGOs in South Africa.

3 Sep 2018

The first organisation to receive its BMW X3 20d is The Rhino Orphanage, a Limpopo-based charity dedicated to saving orphaned baby rhinoceroses. Universities and technical colleges selected to receive cars will be announced in the following months. The purpose of this donations is dedicated to engineering education.

The second round of the #BMWX3xPlore Media Tour started this morning with a special project. With the BMW X3 now being produced in South Africa, @bmwsouthafrica will be donating 20 locally built BMW X3s worth more than R15m to selected educational establishments and NGOs. The first organisation to receive its BMW X3 xDrive20d is The Rhino Orphanage, a Limpopo-based charity dedicated to saving orphaned baby rhinoceroses. In this video, BMW Group SA CEO, Mr Tim Abbott hands over a BMW X3 to Mr Arrie Van Deventer, founder of The Rhino Orphanage. Universities and technical colleges selected to receive cars will be announced in due course. All are dedicated to engineering excellence. . . . . #BMWX3 #X3

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BMW Group South Africa has long history of supporting the cause of education in South Africa. More than 1,900 children have benefitted from Plant Rosslyn’s Early Learning Centre, and the group has supported 144 schools in various ways. Providing BMW X3s to engineering facilities at technical colleges and universities is a continuation of this philosophy.

Tim Abbott, CEO of BMW Group South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, said BMW Group South Africa had “started production on the BMW X3, but we are building more than just a car in South Africa”.

“We’re honoured to be able to give back, and donating 20 cars to the right kind of organisation is the continuation of our long-standing commitment to charitable causes.”

Abbott said that the NGO partners the company has selected are “organisations as dedicated to South Africa as we have been for the past 45 years.”

Abbott said donating BMW X3s to selected technical colleges and universities was a natural extension of BMW’s long-term support for education in South Africa. Abbott recently handed over the keys, at a ceremony attended by the media, of a brand-new BMW X3 to the Rhino Orphanage’s founder, Arrie Van Deventer.

Van Deventer said the donation was hugely significant for the Rhino Orphanage. “We were thrilled that BMW is interested in what we are doing, and what we’re trying to achieve. The BMW X3 is really ideal for us, as it’s a robust, spacious car with excellent off-road capabilities, which we will use all the time. It’s also really efficient, so will not be expensive for us to run”, Van Deventer said.