By Adaobi Rhema Oguejiofor
When Chery Automobile finalised its acquisition of Nissan’s historic Rosslyn assembly plant near Pretoria, South Africa, it marked more than the transfer of a factory. The deal underscored a fundamental shift in China’s automotive strategy on the African continent. Rather than relying solely on exporting finished vehicles, China, the world’s dominant force in electric vehicle (EV) production, is embedding itself across Africa’s industrial landscape, building an integrated value chain that stretches from lithium mines to vehicle assembly plants.
For decades, global automakers treated Sub-Saharan Africa largely as a destination for imported internal combustion engine vehicles. Manufacturing investments were concentrated elsewhere, leaving African markets dependent on expensive imports. But changing global market dynamics are forcing a rethink. Chinese automakers are facing fierce competition at home, slowing domestic demand, and rising trade barriers in Europe and North America. Africa, with its expanding urban population and growing appetite for affordable mobility, has emerged as both a promising consumer market and a strategic production base.
The Rosslyn acquisition illustrates this new approach. Instead of spending years constructing a greenfield facility, Chery gains immediate access to established manufacturing infrastructure, a skilled workforce, and mature supply chains in South Africa, the continent’s most developed automotive hub. The plant is expected to produce battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and brands such as Jetour for both local and export markets, allowing the company to manufacture where it intends to sell.
Yet assembling vehicles is only one piece of a much larger strategy. The real competitive advantage lies further upstream in securing the critical minerals that power the batteries at the heart of every electric vehicle.
Across Africa, Chinese companies are rapidly consolidating their position in the lithium supply chain. In Nigeria, new government policies requiring local processing have attracted more than $1 billion in Chinese investment. Projects including Jiuling Lithium Mining’s $600 million processing facility and Canmax Technologies’ $200 million plant aim to transform locally mined ore into battery-grade lithium salts rather than exporting raw materials.
Zimbabwe has become another cornerstone of China’s mineral strategy. Home to some of the world’s largest hard-rock lithium deposits, the country has attracted billions of dollars in Chinese mining investment, positioning itself as a regional hub for battery materials. Similar long-term investments and off-take agreements are taking shape in Mali and Ghana, ensuring Chinese companies maintain access to some of Sub-Saharan Africa’s most promising lithium reserves.
Taken together, these investments create a vertically integrated ecosystem. Lithium is mined and increasingly processed within Africa before feeding into battery manufacturing and vehicle assembly operations dominated by Chinese firms. This integrated model reduces supply chain risks, lowers production costs, and gives manufacturers greater control over the inputs required for mass EV production.
The strategy also aligns with Africa’s own evolving energy and industrial ambitions. Several governments are introducing policies designed to accelerate the transition to cleaner transport while encouraging domestic manufacturing. Ethiopia, for instance, has moved to restrict imports of fossil fuel passenger vehicles in an effort to reduce fuel imports and conserve foreign exchange. South Africa, Morocco and Kenya have introduced incentive frameworks aimed at attracting investment in electric mobility and green manufacturing.
Local production offers significant economic advantages. By manufacturing vehicles within Africa, Chinese automakers can avoid steep import duties, reduce shipping costs and shorten delivery times. Lower production costs could ultimately translate into more affordable electric vehicles for African consumers, particularly the growing middle class in major cities such as Johannesburg, Nairobi and Lagos.
The expansion of EV manufacturing could also have broader implications for Africa’s clean energy transition. Although many countries continue to grapple with unreliable electricity grids, the increasing availability of affordable electric vehicles is encouraging complementary investments in solar power and battery storage systems. Off-grid renewable energy solutions are becoming an important part of the emerging mobility ecosystem, particularly in regions where charging infrastructure remains limited.
China’s expanding footprint has not gone unnoticed. Western governments and manufacturers are increasingly seeking to diversify supply chains and reduce dependence on Chinese-controlled critical minerals. However, while many continue to debate strategies for “de-risking”, Chinese companies have moved aggressively to secure assets, build processing capacity and establish manufacturing operations across the continent.
From the lithium-rich deposits of Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Mali to the production lines of Pretoria, China is constructing an end-to-end electric vehicle ecosystem that few competitors can currently match. The Rosslyn acquisition is therefore not simply another factory investment. It represents a broader industrial vision one in which Africa is no longer just a market for imported vehicles or a source of raw materials but an increasingly important manufacturing base in the global transition to electric mobility.
If this strategy succeeds, China will not merely dominate Africa’s EV market. It will have helped shape the continent’s automotive future by controlling every major link in the value chain from the mine to the showroom.