Rosslyn, South Africa. After 35 years, the last BMW 3
Series Sedan rolled off the production line today at BMW Group Plant
Rosslyn in Pretoria. The plant has produced a total of 1,191,604 units
and five generations of the BMW 3 Series. One in four BMW 3 Series
Sedans of the current generation come from BMW Group Plant Rosslyn.
“We look back with great pride over an extraordinary career path of
the production at Plant Rosslyn. Over the years, the development of
our production and export programme has been the catalyst for our
sustainable growth and contribution to the South African economy,”
says Tim Abbott, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BMW Group South Africa.
In the next few months, Plant Rosslyn will launch the production of
the BMW X3. In the future, the BMW 3 Series Sedan will also be
manufactured at the new BMW Group plant in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
Bidding farewell to the BMW 3 Series at BMW Group Plant Rosslyn
One of the key milestones of the BMW 3 Series has been the success in
founding the segment of the modern sports sedan, establishing itself
as the embodiment of driving pleasure in its segment and becoming the
world’s top-selling premium car. The enthusiasm for this model series
was also shared by the production staff who expressed their passion
for these cars by giving them legendary nicknames. Each generation of
the BMW 3 Series produced at Plant Rosslyn had its own nickname: the
third generation, for instance, was called “Dolphin” for its elegant
contours. Limited edition models of the BMW 3 Series, such as the BMW
333i and 325iS, also emerged from the plant.
In June 2015, BMW Plant Rosslyn was awarded the Platinum Plant
Quality Award in the J.D. Power 2015 Initial Quality Study (IQS). This
award made Plant Rosslyn the best plant in the world in the Initial
Quality Study 2015.
BMW X3 instead of BMW 3 Series
With the production of the new BMW X3 in the coming months, a new era
will begin at Plant Rosslyn. In November 2015, BMW Group South Africa
reaffirmed its long term commitment to South Africa by announcing that
it will invest a total of R6 billion at Plant Rosslyn. The investment
– one of the biggest in the local automotive industry – has enabled
Plant Rosslyn to get ready to produce the new BMW X3. In October
2017, an additional R160 million was invested into the Rosslyn
manufacturing facility to enhance production line speed.
Stefan Hülsenberg, Director of BMW Plant Rosslyn, explains: “The
enhancement has raised the maximum production capacity to 76 000
units, leaving the plant with excellent potential in the future to
produce the highest volume ever in its 45-year history. Plans to
create a center of production excellence at our plant are well under
way with the largest infrastructure upgrade in the history of the
facility now completed and staff upskilled in state-of-the-art technologies.”