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Article: Revving up; Cars in South Africa.
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- February 14, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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South Africa's car industry roars ahead
"SOME visitors are amazed that this is Africa. They expect a jungle or lions, but then they see this". The manager of a Delta Motors assembly plant in Port Elizabeth waves at a bustling factory floor, then to a gang of robots welding the panels of a small car. Along the line more robots spray paint; another squirts glue to fit windows. Human workers fill the gaps, as 125 cars are put together each day. Other machines are in place to build a new model, once the firm's new owners give the order. Last month, General Motors announced the purchase of an outstanding 51% share of Delta Motors, South Africa's fourth-largest car ...