22 June, 2018
Decades of reliability and excellence has thrust upon us a popularity that spans across the globe. Our sheer dominance in the Indian auto industry propelled us to enter South Africa – an upcoming economy with immense potential. In this country, we saw a budding opportunity that allowed us to provide key mobility, transporting and commuting solutions for its residents. Establishing ourselves in South Africa in 2004, today, our cars, heavy trucks and utility vehicles can be found on the country's narrow by-lanes, rolling grasslands and winding mountain passes. Here's how we achieved it:
Operational Footprint
South Africa turned out to have a large appetite for both commercial as well as passenger vehicles. Since 2005, Tata Motors has sold over 39,000 passenger cars and 50,000 commercial vehicles in South Africa. It, thus, seemed more than feasible for us to set up an assembly unit there. We formally opened an assembly plant in Rosslyn, north of Pretoria in 2010. The following year saw the roll out of our 1000th vehicle from this plant.
Roll out of the 5000th Vehicle
Since 2014, we have remained true to our commitment towards South Africa. We played an aggressive role in pursuing industrial development strategy for the country's medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sector. The state-of-the-art facility in Rosslyn, instilled with the ability of assembling 2000 trucks on a yearly basis can put together vehicles from 8 to 75-ton payloads.
Our dedicated team
Besides supplying South Africa, the Rosslyn plant also exports vehicles to Mozambique and Zimbabwe. We are also hoping to expand our presence to neighbouring countries as well using vehicles produced in this plant. The skill development of our employees through frequently organized programs is given utmost importance. After all, it is their combined and tireless effort that has helped us achieve this feat. We are currently exploring skill development initiatives, in association with the Automotive Industries Development Council (AIDC), to cultivate a workforce from within the local community.
Vehicles on display
On the roll out of our 5000th vehicle, a comprehensive portfolio, including the recently launched Ultra platform was put on display in South Africa. Those in attendance of this event, were given the opportunity to explore the state-of-the-art plant. We also made use of Virtual Reality (VR), which would enable consumers to take a ride in our range of vehicles from the comfort of the office.
We are proud of this success in South Africa. Those at the helm of this success were the channel partners, whose efforts were instrumental in achieving this milestone. The roll out of our 5000th vehicle in South Africa comes at a time when we are celebrating our conglomerate's 150th anniversary. It is our promise to continue to excel in that market and beyond.
