New Dedicated Mahindra Assembly Facility Planned

On 20 August 2024, Mahindra South Africa today celebrated a major milestone with a special ceremony at its vehicle assembly facility in Durban.

The ceremony was attended by dignitaries from South Africa and India, the leadership and management team of Mahindra South Africa as well as staff from the group’s South African head office and from the assembly facility itself. The staff have just delivered its 20 000th South African assembled Mahindra Pik Up.

The attendees included the High Commissioner of India to South Africa, the Honourable Shri Prabhat Kumar, the Consul General of India in Durban, Dr Thelma David, Rajesh Gupta, the CEO of Mahindra South Africa and Corrie Kotze, the CEO of AIH Group, Mahindra’s production partner.

The 20 000th milestone follows six years after Mahindra opened its assembly facility on 25 May 2018. In these early days, Mahindra set a goal of producing 2 500 Pik Up models a year. It has since exceeded that goal by a factor of four.

At the celebrations, a special Pik Up S6 4×4 shared the stage with dignitaries. This is the 20 000th model to be produced in the South African plant.

Mahindra first started producing single cab Pik Up models at the plant before increasing the plant’s capabilities and the complexity of its semi-knocked down (SKD) line to reach a point where each Pik Up is a complete nuts and bolts assembly.

Over time, Mahindra South Africa added its double cab and special edition models, such as the very popular Karoo Editions to the line-up and today all Pik Up models are assembled here. 

“The Mahindra Assembly Facility could rightfully be described as the largest and most complex of its kind on the African continent if one considers single-brand facilities that produce a consistent flow of vehicles every month,” says Rajesh Gupta, CEO of Mahindra South Africa. 

Supporting Mahindra South Africa’s assembly plans is AIH, a Level 2 BBBEE Empowered company that operates the Assembly Facility on behalf of Mahindra.

“AIH and Mahindra have worked closely together to increase the production output and complexity of the facility. All the intellectual property that we have generated by constantly improving our plan is shared with Mahindra for use in other similar facilities across the globe,” says Corrie Kotze, CEO of Auto Investment Holdings Group (AIH Group).

Mahindra and AIH will soon enter the next phase of its journey by starting production on a brand-new assembly facility. This facility will cover 14 000 m2 and will redouble Mahindra’s investment in the country.

Construction of the new assembly facility is expected to be completed by June 2025 at which time the company will expand its staff complement to meet the growing production volumes. At present, Mahindra employs 90 staff on the assembly line.

Ready for growth

The new assembly facility will anchor Mahindra’s next growth phase in South Africa. 

“The assembly facility has allowed us to not only meet the growing local demand for Pik Up models, but to also serve the needs of the South African bakkie buyer. For instance, the Pik Up Karoo Dusk, Dawn, Storm and Dew Special Edition models are made possible by the assembly plant,” says Rajesh.

Mahindra is the second largest seller of single cab bakkies, as well as the fourth largest bakkie retailer overall. This is a far cry from the early days when Mahindra sold its Bolero and later its Scorpio SUV through a small number of local dealers.

Mahindra South Africa first opened its doors in October 2004 when representatives from Mahindra & Mahindra opened an office in Pretoria, Gauteng and welcomed its first local team members. 

Since those first days, the company has grown its vehicle range, its dealer network and its supporting infrastructure to levels that can match that of many other local manufacturers. This has been in keeping with its stated goal of making South Africa the second home for Mahindra outside of India.

And while Mahindra has never pursued growth for its own sake, it has seen its sales and operations grow exponentially in the last six years. In 2019 and 2022 Mahindra was recognised as the fastest-growing brand in the country and it has counted among the fastest-growing brands overall since 2018.

Mahindra increased its investment to keep pace with its growth, opening a new multi-storey parts warehouse in Johannesburg, a new high-tech training facility in Centurion and a Special Fitment Centre in Kempton Park.

The Fitment Centre allowed Mahindra to introduce special edition models such as the popular Karoo and Karoo Dawn, Dusk, Storm and Dew special editions. The production of the Karoo range has since been moved to the Mahindra Assembly Facility, where it is built alongside the complete range of single and double cab Pik Ups.

Speaking at the special ceremony on Tuesday, the High Commissioner of India to South Africa, the Honourable Shri Prabhat Kumar, said: “India and South Africa are major trading partners and nowhere is this more evident than in the automotive industry. Mahindra is a perfect example of the increase in trade and investment between the two countries, growing in local popularity while constantly increasing its investment in South Africa.”

“South Africa’s role as our second home outside of India was emphasised last year when Mahindra unveiled its new global Pik Up concept in South Africa to a global audience.

“Mahindra South Africa and its assembly facility will become an important part of the global Pik Up plans, especially with the announcement that Mahindra will continue to produce the current range of bakkies alongside the new model,” says Rajesh.