The ceremony was attended by dignitaries from South Africa and India, the leadership and management team of Mahindra South Africa as well as staff from the group’s South African head office and from the assembly facility itself.

The attendees included the High Commissioner of India to South Africa, the Honourable Shri Prabhat Kumar, the Consul General of India in Durban, Dr Thelma David, Rajesh Gupta, the CEO of Mahindra South Africa and Corrie Kotze, the CEO of AIH Group, Mahindra’s production partner.

The 20 000th milestone follows six years after Mahindra opened its assembly facility on 25 May 2018. In these early days, Mahindra set a goal of producing 2 500 Pik Up models a year. It has since exceeded that goal by a factor of four.

Mahindra first started producing single cab Pik Up models at the plant before increasing the plant’s capabilities and the complexity of its semi-knocked down (SKD) line to reach a point where each Pik Up is a complete nuts and bolts assembly.

Over time, Mahindra South Africa added its double cab and special edition models, such as the very popular Karoo Editions to the line-up and today all Pik Up models are assembled here.

“The Mahindra Assembly Facility could rightfully be described as the largest and most complex of its kind on the African continent if one considers single-brand facilities that produce a consistent flow of vehicles every month,” says Rajesh Gupta, CEO of Mahindra South Africa.

Supporting Mahindra South Africa’s assembly plans is AIH, a Level 2 BBBEE-Empowered company that operates the Assembly Facility on behalf of Mahindra.

“AIH and Mahindra have worked closely together to increase the production output and complexity of the facility. All the intellectual property that we have generated by constantly improving our plan is shared with Mahindra for use in other similar facilities across the globe,” says Corrie Kotze, CEO of Auto Investment Holdings Group (AIH Group).

Mahindra and AIH will soon enter the next phase of its journey by starting production on a brand-new assembly facility. This facility will cover 14 000 m² and will redouble Mahindra’s investment in the country.

Construction of the new assembly facility is expected to be completed by June 2025 at which time the company will expand its staff complement to meet the growing production volumes. At present, Mahindra employs 90 staff on the assembly line.

Mahindra South Africa first opened its doors in October 2004 when representatives from Mahindra & Mahindra opened an office in Pretoria, Gauteng and welcomed its first local team members.

Since those first days, the company has grown its vehicle range, its dealer network and its supporting infrastructure to levels that can match that of many other local manufacturers. This has been in keeping with its stated goal of making South Africa the second home for Mahindra outside of India.

Mahindra increased its investment to keep pace with its growth, opening a new multi-storey parts warehouse in Johannesburg, a new high-tech training facility in Centurion and a Special Fitment Centre in Kempton Park.