As early as 1929, the first BMW motorcycle was imported to South Africa by a private individual. The first cars of the brand in 1952 was a BMW 501. However, the assembly of BMW automobiles did not begin until 1968 by Praetor Monteerders in Rosslyn. The company also assembled Jeep models. In 1970, BMW bought shares in Praetor Monteerders to completely take it over in 1975, BMW South Africa to found, was also the first BMW plant outside of Germany. After an investment of 3.5 billion randat the beginning of the new millennium, the Rosslyn plant was regarded as the most modern automobile plant in the southern hemisphere.
Models
The first models produced were the BMW 1800 SA or 2000 SA derived from the Glas 1700. First, the assembly took place from CKD -Bausätzen, were sent to the production facilities to South Africa. In 1973 the optically revised models followed in 1804 and 2004, but only a year were built. From 1974, the BMW 5 Series was produced in South Africa from CKD kits. This series there until 1985, after the interior and the engines of the new series 1982 E28 had received. The new series E28 was also later replaced by the series E34, which was the last 5 Series produced in South Africa. Production of the BMW 745i began in 1983. The vehicle was driven with the 3.5-liter engine of the BMW M1 and the time was the fastest BMW 7 of the world. By 1986, to have been produced 192 vehicles of this type. The BMW 333i with 6 cylinders and 3.2 l displacement produced from 1986 was also only produced in South Africa. It emerged in this type with 204-215 vehicles. Es entstanden 204 bis 215 Fahrzeuge dieses Typs. South AfricanBMW 3 Series models have also been exported to Australia since 1994 and to other countries since 1999. At the same time began after taking over Rover Group, they marketed and produced of vehicles of the Land Rover brand. With 7.8%, the BMW Group has the largest market share worldwide outside of Germany in South Africa. In 2011, around three quarters of production was exported. The production was limited to the 3 series. Since 2018, the X3 series has been manufactured in Rosslyn. At the same time, the production of the 3 series ended after 1,191,604 copies and five model generations.
