Peugeot is due to start producing cars in Walvis Bay by November 2018 – barely a year after Opel pulled out of South Africa. Opel was bought from General Motors in August 2017.
The return of automotive assembly to Namibia is already having an impact on skills development, according to president Hage Geingob. “Albeit small at the beginning, this operation will significantly enhance Namibia’s industrial capacity, contributing towards skills transfer and employment creation,” he said during his State of the Nation address.
Opels produced in Namibia will go on sale in South Africa and other neighbouring Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. The plan is to assemble 5 000 vehicles a year by 2020.
A vehicle assembler in Walvis Bay will attract a number of support companies – bringing new skills in electronics, robotics and programming to the city. This, in turn, will support government efforts to attract more manufacturing-related investment.
