In the 1960s, the brothers Thys and Andries Bekker imported the first Datsun 1000 pick-up to South Africa. In 1965, the assembly of Datsun automobiles began at Motor Assemblies. The Datsun 1200 was the first Japanese passenger car to be imported in South Africa in 1966. Other sources cite the year 1959.
Rosslyn Motor Assemblers
After the assembly plant Motor Assemblies, in which models of different brands were produced, was taken over by Toyota end of 1964, it came to the founding of the Rosslyn Motor Assemblers Ltd. and to the construction of an assembly plant mainly for Datsun models in Rosslyn. Opened in 1966, the factory was initially a free assembly plant for the South African market, as the Bekker brothers awarded the Nissan concession to the mining companyMessina Transvaal, which was interested in a greater diversification of the assembly. Other sources name the year 1965 as the opening year.
Renamings
The company was renamed Datsun Nissan South Africa Ltd. in 1973 and, according to one source, focused on the sole production of Nissan products sold under the Datsun brand. Ten years later the name of the company was changed to Nissan SA.
Automakers SA
With the start of production of the Fiat Uno in 1988, a new parent company called Automakers SA Ltd. was founded. This company was located in Sandton. In one source, this company is also referred to as Nissan Automakers SA. In the year 2000, Nissan acquired a 37% stake in Automakers SA Ltd. One year later, the name was changed to Nissan South Africa Pty. Ltd.. The Rosslyn plant employs around 2,000 people.
Models
In addition to Datsun models that were produced between 1967-1973, vehicles of the Alfa Romeo brand were also produced. Added to this were Rambler vehicles and Renault models. In the next few years, the product range was supplemented by vehicles from the brands Peugeot and Citroën. From 1971 to 2008, the pick-up model Nissan 1400 was built exclusively in South Africa. In total, around 275,000 copies of the Nissan 1400 were sold. Other models made only in South Africa were the Datsun 140Z and the Datsun 160Z. From 1990 to 2005, the Fiat Uno was manufactured. The end of production is also stated in 2004. Other Fiat models produced by Nissan South Africa have been the Fiat Palio, the Fiat Siena and the Fiat Strada. The assembly agreement with Fiat was due to expire in 2008. The production of Nissan Primera began in the late 1990s. The pickup models NP200 and NP300 as well as the Nissan Livina and the Sandero of the Alliance partner Renault are currently under construction. In the years 1976 to 1978 Nissan was with its brand Datsun the leading supplier in South Africa. Nissan had in 2014 in Sub-Saharan Africa the second largest market share.
