Rosslyn, Pretoria. BMW Group South Africa hosted media this week at BMW Group Plant Rosslyn for the national media launch of the new BMW X3. The event, which will have a second media rotation from 19–20 February, provided a firsthand look at the state-of-the-art facility, the production process, and the plant’s significant local footprint.

Since its start of production in October 2024, the new BMW X3 has strongly resonated with South African customers, with all available stock sold or on order. Impressively, approximately 10% of sales are for the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) BMW X3 30e xDrive model, underscoring growing interest in electrified vehicles and reinforcing BMW’s leadership in the ‘New Energy Vehicles’ segment. The BMW X3 30e xDrive has driven a remarkable 45% increase in the monthly retail rate of PHEVs, demonstrating its significant market impact.

These achievements coincide with BMW Group Plant Rosslyn’s reintroduction of a third production shift and expansion of its production line to include internal combustion engine (ICE) variants. “The new BMW X3 embodies our commitment to both innovation and customer choice,” said Ernst Kohlmeyer, General Manager of Quality at BMW Group South Africa. “Producing both PHEV and ICE models on the same line demonstrates the flexibility and adaptability of Plant Rosslyn, enabling us to effectively respond to global market demands.”

Driven by worldwide demand, the new BMW X3 plays a crucial role in the BMW Group’s strategic electrification roadmap. Its production launch is timely, showcasing BMW Group Plant Rosslyn’s capabilities and commitment to delivering on allocated volume and quality in a three-shift operation, reintroduced on 8 January 2025, to meet growing demand. The plant is projected to produce an average of 110 units per shift.

“These production milestones represent the culmination of years of planning and investment in Plant Rosslyn,” added Anuk Maharaj, Project Lead for the new BMW X3 at BMW Group Plant Rosslyn. “We are immensely proud to see the new BMW X3 come to life here, securing jobs and contributing to the South African economy.”

In addition to the previously launched BMW X3 30e xDrive, BMW Group Plant Rosslyn will now also produce the BMW X3 20 petrol and 20d diesel variants, (started in January 2025), followed by the BMW X3 40d xDrive in May 2025. Significantly, both the BMW X3 30e xDrive and the BMW X3 40d xDrive will be exclusively produced at BMW Group Plant Rosslyn for global markets. This strategic move reinforces the BMW Group’s ‘technology openness’ philosophy, offering customers powertrain options that best suit their individual needs.

This expansion follows a R4.2 billion investment in the electrification and digitisation of the production facility, demonstrating the BMW Group’s commitment to transformation, skills development, and future-proofing the Rosslyn plant within its global production network. A comprehensive plant-wide training programme ensured the workforce was fully prepared for the new model’s production.

The production of the BMW X3, including PHEV and ICE variants, secures jobs not only at BMW Group South Africa but also within its supply chain and retail network across the country. This new development reaffirms the BMW Group’s confidence in BMW Group Plant Rosslyn and its employees, positioning the plant for continued success in the evolving automotive landscape.

Dingolfing. Standard production of the fully-electric BMW iX began today in Dingolfing. The plant in Lower Bavaria now produces vehicles with all drivetrain variants, i.e. combustion-engine vehicles, plug-in hybrids and fully-electric models, on a single line. Milan Nedeljković, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Production: “The launch of the BMW iX marks another milestone in our expansion of electrification and demonstrates our production network's successful transformation towards electromobility and digitalisation.”

The BMW iX is being manufactured at the BMW Group’s largest European production plant on an assembly line with the flexibility to build a mix of BMW 5 Series, 7 Series and 8 Series models. To handle this flexibility and variety of drivetrains, vehicle assembly in Dingolfing has been expanded and refurbished. The BMW Group has invested a total of more than 400 million euros in producing the BMW iX at the Dingolfing vehicle plant. Many of the remodelling and structural measures required for the BMW iX are already benefiting future generations of the BMW 7 Series and 5 Series that will come off the production line in Dingolfing in the coming years. Fully-electric variants have also been announced for both model ranges.

Half of production volume already electrified by mid-decade

With the BMW iX and other PHEV models at Plant Dingolfing alone, the BMW Group plans to double the percentage of electrified vehicles produced this year compared to 2020. By the middle of the decade, half the vehicles produced in Dingolfing will be electrified. The new model will play an important part in this. “The BMW iX will already be one of the highest-volume models at the location by next year,” according to Nedeljković. The BMW iX will be followed in the (European) autumn by the BMW i4, which will be built in Munich. At the end of next year, all German plants will be producing at least one fully-electric vehicle.

Broad know-how: Vehicle and e-drive production on site

Production of the BMW iX in Dingolfing benefits from broad know-how and expertise in the technologies located at the site. Close interaction between these different areas enables a high level of in-house activity and short lines of communication, as well as ensuring optimum production technology overall. The fully-electric heart of the BMW iX – the highly integrated e-drive and fifth-generation battery, as well as the complete electric axle are produced on site, together with the Dingolfing component plants. Production capacity will be systematically expanded and, from 2022, Dingolfing will be able to produce e-drives for more than half a million electrified vehicles.

BMW iX as trailblazer

The BMW iX introduces a multitude of innovations to the product and production processes at the plant – especially in the vehicle’s electrical system architecture, software, digital services, connectivity and automated driving functions. As a result, the vehicle plays an important role as a trailblazer and is making Dingolfing “e-car” and “smart-car ready” as the BMW Group’s primary plant for the luxury class.

The BMW iX is also an important trailblazer in production, bringing future technologies into the production system – such as digital methods for employee training, automation of logistics processes, virtual commissioning and validation of driver assistance systems.

Christoph Schröder, head of BMW Group Plant Dingolfing: “As the primary plant for the luxury class, our location produces the BMW Group’s technology flagship. It is once again proving itself as a pioneer for the mobility of tomorrow and as the industry leader in key future areas of automotive activity, such as electrification, digitalisation and sustainability. In this way, the BMW iX is continuing the successful transformation of the BMW Group location in Dingolfing that began long ago.”

Special focus on sustainability

The topic of sustainability is firmly anchored throughout the company. A particular focus is on improving our carbon footprint – especially in production of electric vehicles. Independent auditors have confirmed that the greenhouse gas potential of the BMW iX xDrive40* is around 45 percent lower than that of a comparable Sports Activity Vehicle with an internal combustion engine. “We are already the sustainability benchmark for our industry. But we will continue to invest in resource-saving technologies and set ourselves ambitious goals for the most sustainable production,” underlined head of Production Milan Nedeljković. The BMW Group takes a holistic approach to reducing CO₂ emissions and minimising resource consumption that covers the entire value chain, including production as well as the supply chain and use phase.

The BMW Group has already succeeded in lowering resource consumption per vehicle produced by more than half between 2006 and 2020. CO₂ emissions have been reduced even more significantly – by as much as 78 percent. The aim is to reduce CO₂ emissions per vehicle produced by another 80 percent by 2030. “To achieve this, we have made some changes at Plant Dingolfing and implemented a series of new measures,” says plant director Christoph Schröder. For example, the BMW iX is produced exclusively using regional and directly-sourced green power from two hydroelectric power plants located on the Isar and Lech rivers. The entire plant, like all BMW Group locations, will also be net carbon neutral from this year, through the use of corresponding offsets and certificates.

Other aspects of sustainability range from energy-efficient installations to packaging planning, through transport logistics and recycling, up to and including topics such as biodiversity and water management. Plant Dingolfing is therefore able to achieve a recycling rate of more than 90 percent and an even higher recoverability rate of over 99 percent. The plant’s own wells meet over 40 percent of its water needs, thereby helping conserve the region’s drinking water reserves. The BMW Group has already reduced its water consumption by more than 30 percent overall since 2006.

BMW iX as catalyst for change: Active shift in competence.

The BMW iX creates a need for additional training beyond the extensive experience and expertise that is already available. It is accelerating the shift in competence already taking place within the production network and helping prepare the workforce for the demands of a new era. In this way, employee development across the entire company is being geared towards digitalisation and e-mobility. As part of the biggest training offensive in the company’s history, 75,000 staff are being trained in future areas of activity.

In Dingolfing alone, more than 4,000 employees have moved to jobs with strong future prospects since 2012. A current example of this is the creation and expansion of the Competence Centre for E-Drive Production at the location, which doubled its staff numbers last year from 600 to 1,200. This number is likely to increase to over 1,900 by the end of the year.

*Fuel consumption/emissions data:

BMW iX xDrive40: Power consumption in kWh/100 km: 22.5-19.4 (WLTP); CO2 emissions combined: 0 g/km

BMW iX xDrive50: Power consumption in kWh/100 km: 23.0-19.8 (WLTP); CO2 emissions combined: 0 g/km

Midrand – 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.

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 due course. All are dedicated to engineering excellence.

BMW Group South Africa has long history of supporting the cause of education in South Africa. More than 1900 children have benefitted from Plant Rosslyn’s Early Learning Centre, and the group has supported 144 schools in various ways. By the end of this year, at Ntsha Peu Primary School in Shoshanguve, BMW Group South Africa will have completed a computer centre, a library and a multi-sports facility. Providing BMW X3s to engineering facilities at technical colleges and universities is a continuation of this philosophy. Mr 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.” Mr 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”.  Mr 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.

In a ceremony on Thursday, Mr Abbott handed over the keys for a brand-new BMW X3 to the Rhino Orphanage’s founder, Arrie Van Deventer. The Rhino Orphanage will eventually receive two BMW X3s. The Rhino Orphanage is a registered non-profit company based in the Limpopo Province, and was founded by Mr Van Deventer in 2012. The orphanage is the first specialist, dedicated, non-commercial centre that cares for orphaned and injured baby rhinos with the only aim of releasing them back into the wild. It was created due to a lack of a specialised facilities dedicated to rearing baby rhinos that have been orphaned as a consequence of the current poaching crisis. The Rhino Orphanage is the world’s first organisation of its kind, and has saved more than 15 rhinos since it was founded.

Mr Van Deventer said the donation was hugely significant for the Rhino Orphanage. “We were thrilled that BMW are 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,” Mr Van Deventer said.  Mr Abbott said BMW Group South Africa was excited to “support the protection of South Africa’s extraordinary natural heritage” through the Rhino Orphanage. “It’s just another way we can give back,” Mr Abbott concluded.

Ends

For any queries regarding this press release, please contact:

BMW Group South Africa

Mr Diederik Reitsma

General Manager: Group Communications 

Tel: +27 12 522 2525

Cell: +27 71 666 2525

Email: Diederik.Reitsma@bmw.co.za

Mr Alexander Parker

Manager: Business Communications

BMW Group South Africa (Pty) Ltd

Tel: +27 (0)12 522 2950

Cell: +27 (0)71 666 2950

Email: alexander.pa.parker@bmw.co.za

The Rhino Orphanage

Mr Arrie Van Deventer

Cell: +27-83-645-4398

Email: mvd@legendlodges.co.za

The BMW Group

With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production network comprises 31 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2017, the BMW Group sold over 2,463,500 passenger vehicles and more than 164,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the financial year 2017 was approximately €10.655 billion on revenues amounting to €97.8 billion. As of 31 December 2017, the BMW Group had a workforce of 129,932 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.

BMW Group websites:

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www.bmwmotorrad.co.za

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