Commenting on the certification, Chief Executive Officer of Mercedes-Benz South Africa, Andreas Brand, said: “MBSA supports the need to establish South Africa as a location for the future, especially in the automotive industry.

“In 2021, MBSA was certified as a Level 6 BBBEE contributor and set an ambitious goal of reaching BBBEE Level 4 recognition status by 2022. Today, we are proud to have surpassed this goal by moving up two levels and achieving a Level 2 BBBEE contributor status and consider it to be a progressive step in our transformation journey.

“As a leading and responsible corporate citizen, the current Level 2 BBBEE contributor certification demonstrates our commitment to not only the transformation of the company, but also that of the automotive industry,” he says.

To have achieved its Level 2 BBBEE contributor status, MBSA deliberately improved upon most of the elements on the BBBEE scorecard from its 2020 rating. To this end, each element of the scorecard was the responsibility of the Executive Committee Members as well as key departments within the organisation, to further drive transformation at a strategic and operational level.

In addition, to augment its transformation efforts, MBSA also participated in the Automotive Industry Transformation Fund (AITF) as well as the Youth Employment Service (YES) initiative, which are mandated to pioneer inclusive growth through access to market, funding and capacity development and work opportunities for young South Africans.

“We congratulate all the employees of MBSA who contributed to this milestone. The journey to Level 1 contributor status is our next ambitious target as a company, and we are committed to achieving this to further demonstrate our steadfast commitment to transformation,” Andreas concludes.