Mercedes-Benz South Africa
| Mercedes-Benz South Africa (Pty) Ltd. | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Property Limited |
| founding | 1966 United Car and Diesel Distributors (UCDD) (Pty) Ltd 1984 Mercedes-Benz South Africa (Pty) Ltd. 1999 DaimlerChrysler South Africa (Pty) Ltd. 2007 Mercedes-Benz South Africa (Pty) Ltd. |
| Seat | East London , South Africa |
| Number of employees | 2700 (as of 2013) |
| Branch |
Automobile manufacturer Commercial vehicle manufacturer |
| Website | www.mercedes-benzsa.co.za |
Mercedes-Benz South Africa (Pty) Ltd. (MBSA) is a subsidiary of Daimler AG and manufactures passenger cars and commercial vehicles in South Africa .
history
In 1896 the Benz Velo was the first car to be imported into South Africa. The first Daimler-Benz branch in South Africa was opened in 1954 and four years later signed a contract with Car Distributors and Assemblers (CDA) in East London to assemble the W 120 , W 121 and W 180 series . CDA had previously been assembling Nash , Fiat , Renault , Land Rover , Hino (Briska model), Prince ( Miler model ) and Commer vehicles since 1950 . Other brands assembled were Standard , DKW / Auto Union and Alfa Romeo .
CDA began producing Mercedes-Benz trucks in 1962 and was taken over in 1966 by United Car and Diesel Distributors (UCDD) (Pty) Ltd , which at that time had been the sole sales company for Mercedes-Benz in South Africa for four years.
With the engine plant opened in 1973, Mercedes engines were manufactured outside of Germany for the first time. In 1979, Atlantis Diesel Engines was granted a license to manufacture commercial vehicle engines .
In 1984, the Daimler-Benz AG acquired 50.1% of the shares in UCCD and changed the name to Mercedes-Benz of South Africa (Pty) Ltd . The first managing director of the new company was Jürgen Schrempp , who had worked in South Africa with interruptions since 1974. Other shareholders in the new company were the Ernst Göhner Foundation in Switzerland (23.4%) and Volkskas (26.5%), whose shares Daimler-Benz was to take over in 1992 (Volkskas) and 1998 (EGS).
After the parent company merged, Mercedes-Benz of South Africa became DaimlerChrysler South Africa (Pty) Ltd in 1999 . After the parent company split, DaimlerChrysler South Africa became Mercedes-Benz South Africa (Pty) Ltd again at the end of 2007 .
In 2013 the company had around 2,700 employees.
Models
In the 1950s and 1960s, CDA, on behalf of its customer Daimler-Benz, was one of the critics of the political guidelines for the increasing domestic production share, as this would not result in satisfactory quality in South Africa. In the course of the more stringent requirements, MBSA also bought body panels from Volkswagen of South Africa at times .
One of the best-known vehicles made in East London is a red Mercedes-Benz S 500 from Nelson Mandela . MBSA workers built this vehicle in unpaid overtime from parts provided free of charge by the company. It was given to Mandela in 1990 after his release. Today the vehicle is in the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg.
The C-Class has been at the center of car production for a long time. C-Class vehicles manufactured in South Africa have been and are also exported to Australia (since 1997), Japan (since 2000) and the USA (since 2007).
In 2015, MBSA manufactured the one millionth passenger car. In the same year, truck production (which had only started four years later) reached 125,000 units.
In addition to Mercedes-Benz models, CDA and MBSA also manufactured other vehicles. From 1982 to 2000 CDA / MBSA produced Honda models. After the first global joint venture between Daimler-Benz and Mitsubishi, MBSA started manufacturing the Colt L200 pick-up in 1994. In 2006 the Dodge brand found its way into the South African model range.
Others
In June 2002 the anti-HIV / AIDS program directed by DaimlerChrysler South Africa received an award from the United Nations.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Charles Cornew: African adventures , in: Automotive Manufacturing Solutions from November 4, 2014.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j History ( Memento of the original from September 16, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the company's website.
- ↑ The company's name is in the above source incorrectly with Car Distributors Assembly (Pty.) Ltd. stated
- ^ A b M. Compton / TJ Gallwey: Motor Assemblies Limited. A small South African Assembly Plant that became a major manufacturer , 2009.
- ↑ Knud Andresen: Moral Economy. Federal German Automobile Companies and Apartheid , in: Zeithistorische Forschungen 13 (2016), Issue 2, print edition: pp. 231-253.
- ↑ Information on Motorplus.co.za ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
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↑ Nelson Mandela and his Mercedes-Benz S500 , in: Cars-co.za from July 18, 2013.
Jürgen Schneider: My most beautiful car story: Nelson Mandela's S-Class , Deutsche Welle from October 11, 2011. - ↑ Press release from Daimler AG: Production Anniversary in South Africa: Mercedes-Benz East London Plant Produces One Millionth Passenger Car from May 28, 2015.
- ↑ Milestone reached in local truck assembly , report on Transport World dated December 3, 2015.
