BMW Scales PHEV Production as BME Advances Circular Feedstock Shift
Quidah is an online platform that connects investors with curated opportunities and expert insights on Africa’s emerging markets, while offering businesses promotional services, partnership facilitation, and market intelligence to attract capital and grow their operations.
Industries
BMW South Africa reports sustained momentum in plug-in hybrid electric vehicle production at its Rosslyn plant, while explosives producer BME progresses efforts to substitute virgin oil with used oil in its emulsions. The developments highlight growing localization, circular-economy inputs, and flexible industrial platforms across key manufacturing segments.
BMW’s Rosslyn facility, currently the sole global production site for the X3 PHEV, began producing the variant in October last year following R4.2 billion in upgrades. PHEVs now account for nearly half of annual output, with the domestic market absorbing about 10% of sales. Plant management notes that a modular line building multiple models and drivetrains supports a technology-neutral strategy aligned with shifting e-mobility preferences, with PHEVs maintaining local demand strength. Amid global components-sector headwinds, including US tariff shifts and broader trade turbulence, BMW South Africa is working to reinforce supplier resilience and lift its roughly 55% local content level.
BME is advancing its transition to circular inputs as it moves toward replacing all virgin oil in its emulsion fuel phase with used oil over the next several years. Supply availability remains the main constraint. The company operates a national used-oil collection network through 13 contracted suppliers and 16 bulking points, supporting around 150 direct jobs and roughly 450 positions across smaller collectors. BME also sources material from Zimbabwe and Botswana and is researching the integration of oil derived from plastics to expand feedstock options and strengthen recycling links.
For investors, BMW’s rising PHEV share signals strong capacity utilization, export competitiveness, and adaptable product-mix strategy as South Africa refines NEV incentives and continues to address logistics and energy constraints. Progress beyond the current 55% local-content threshold would reduce FX and tariff exposure, reinforce supplier investment, and support compliance under evolving trade frameworks; however, components subsectors remain vulnerable to external tariff shocks and global supply volatility.
BME’s circular-feedstock transition may improve cost structure and ESG positioning by reducing reliance on virgin oil, provided waste-oil supply chains scale effectively and regulatory clarity supports alternative fuel adoption. Broader regional implications include deeper supplier development, increased waste-to-value industrial activity, and more resilient manufacturing bases aligned with AfCFTA ambitions, contingent on improvements in grid reliability, freight performance, and predictable industrial policy.
