BMW Plant Rosslyn moves to 24-hour operations

Since the middle of November, a third production shift has been operational in all areas of production, resulting in increased production capacity and the creation of more than 600 additional jobs.

The three-shift model significantly increases the installed production volumes by almost 70% to a capacity above 80,000 units from 2013. At the same time, this move ensures that BMW South Africa will more than double the number of BMW 3 Series Sedans exported to markets such as USA, Canada, Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong and Australasia.

"The introduction of a third production shift will result in many strategic advantages for our plant, our suppliers and the industry as a whole," explains Bodo Donauer, BMW SA's MD. "The fact that this increase in volume also comes with a 30% increase in employment at BMW, along with the more than 1000 new jobs at our suppliers, is the most obvious benefit of this decision."

Rosslyn responsible for export markets

The BMW 3 Series is the most important volume-produced model by the BMW Group as well as the biggest-selling model in the entire premium segment.

At the same time, every generation of the 3 Series Sedan has been built in Rosslyn and since 1999 this plant has been responsible for production for important export markets.

However, the R2.2 billion investment made in production technology for the new BMW 3 Series between 2009 and 2012 has primed Plant Rosslyn for an even brighter and more sustainable future.

A few months ago BMW South Africa announced that it became the first car manufacturer in the country, since the implementation of the Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP), to receive a clearance permit to export vehicles to China from the Chinese authorities.

Now, with the introduction of the third shift, BMW Plant Rosslyn will be responsible for meeting 25% of global BMW 3 Series demand.