History
1896
Benz Velo, the first car to be imported into South Africa, makes its appearance in Pretoria.
1948
East London chosen as location for Car Distributors Assembly (Pty) Ltd (CDA) to assemble various brands, including Nash, Fiat, Renault, Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, Auto Union, DKW, Land Rover, Hino, Prince and Commer.
1952
Mercedes-Benz exhibits commercial vehicles at Van Riebeeck Festival in Cape Town.
1954
Daimler-Benz opens office in South Africa. This is marked as the beginning of the company’s activities in South Africa.
1958
SA Auto Union acquires franchise for Mercedes-Benz products and a new Pretoria-based company - United Car and Diesel Distributors (Pty) Ltd - appointed sole distributor.
1966
CDA Ltd becomes wholly owned subsidiary of United Cars and Diesel Distributors (UCDD).
1979
Daimler-Benz AG grants license to Atlantis Diesel Engines (ADE) to manufacture Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle engines.
1982
Assembly of Honda cars starts at UCDD.
1984
Daimler-Benz AG acquires 50.1% of UCDD. Remaining shares held by Ernst Göhner Foundation in Switzerland (23.4%) and Volkskas Bank (26.5%) Company registers as Mercedes-Benz of South Africa (Pty) Ltd (MBSA).
1986
CDA Ltd renamed Mercedes-Benz of South Africa (Pty) Ltd, East London.
1992
Daimler-Benz AG purchases Volkskas Bank shares, to gain 76.6% shareholding of MBSA.
1994
Colt L200 pick-up manufacture commences with the first global joint venture between Daimler-Benz AG and Mitsubishi Motor Corporation.
1996
Manufacture of Freightliner trucks starts in East London. This is the first Freightliner Completely Knocked Down (CKD) assembly operation in the world.
1997
MBSA relocates offices from central Pretoria to Zwartkop, Centurion.
Mercedes-Benz Financial Services South Africa (Pty) Ltd established.
1998
Daimler-Benz AG merges with Chrysler Inc. to become DaimlerChrysler. Shares are listed simultaneously in New York and Frankfurt stock exchanges.
November 17: Day One campaign to market the merger is launched.
November 25: R1.4 billion investment in South Africa by DCAG is announced in the East London Imbizo attended by President Nelson Mandela.
debis Fleet Management (Pty) Ltd established.
1999
April 19: Mercedes-Benz of South Africa (Pty) Ltd becomes DaimlerChrysler South Africa (Pty) Ltd (DCSA).
Mercedes-benz Financial Services (Pty) Ltd becomes DaimlerChrysler Financial Services (Pty) Ltd.
2000
September 19: New DCSA plant facilities inaugurated by President Thabo Mbeki and DaimlerChrysler AG Chairman, Jürgen Schrempp.
September 24: First shipment of right-hand drive Mercedes-Benz C-class vehicles leaves East London for Japan.
2001
April: DCSA granted full Mitsubishi franchise for South Africa. Pajero joins Colt to become Mitsubishi Motors.
June: DCSA acquires a 75% share of Sandown Motor Holdings.
September: Western Star incorporated into DCSA.
2002
Mitsubishi Canter trucks added to product range.
12 June: DCAG accepts Global Business Coalition on HIV and AIDS Award from United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, for the DCSA / private public partnership HIV and AIDS Workplace. more>>
2003
February: 100 000th C-Class is built. It is the first time such a quantity of a single model series has been built by the company in South Africa.
May: The plant’s Environmental Management System is certified to ISO 14001 standards.
July: The East London manufacturing plant’s Safety Health and Environment system is chosen by the National Occupational Safety Association (NOSA) as the best for the manufacture of transport equipment among companies audited by NOSA globally.
2004
April: DCSA wins the prestigious International Stevie award, equivalent to a business Oscar, for the company’s benchmark HIV and AIDS Workplace Programme.
2005
March: Durban witnesses the opening of the world’s first Mercedes-Benz Passenger Car Lifestyle Centre. The vehicle campus includes the Mercedes-Benz centre, incorporating the smart brand, and separate facilities for the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge Lifestyle Centre, Mitsubishi Motors Lifestyle Centre, and Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicle Centre facilities.
DaimlerChrysler Financial Services posts a record turnover in excess of R1-billion for the first time.
2006
debis Fleet Management shareholding changes to 35% owned by Kagiso Trust and 65% by DaimlerChrysler Financial Services.
July: With an investment of over R800 million, a new bodyshop facility is completed at the manufacturing plant in East London. This includes the installation of new innovative robots and laser-welding equipment.
August: DaimlerChrysler adds the Dodge brand to its South African portfolio.
October: In a first for the motor industry, DCSA launches a heavy duty commercial vehicle driver learnership programme to provide skills for unemployed people.
November: A broad-based black economic empowerment agreement is reached with True Class Consortium (Pty) Ltd acquiring a 40% shareholding in Sandown Motor Holding (Pty) Ltd. DCSA retains 50.1% and Mr Roy McAllister holds 9.9%.
DaimlerChrysler Financial Services signs 10 000th finance and 100 000th insurance contracts.
2007
May: DaimlerChrysler AG (global company) sells Chrysler business unit.
August: DCSA launches the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class
October: DaimlerChrysler AG (global company) renamed Daimler AG
November: DCSA exports its First South African-built left-hand drive Mercedes-Benz C-Class cars to the USA.
December 10: DaimlerChrysler South Africa (Pty) Ltd renamed Mercedes-Benz South Africa (Pty) Ltd.
DaimlerChrysler Financial Services (Pty) Ltd renamed Mercedes-Benz Financial Services (Pty) Ltd.
2008
Mercedes-Benz South Africa group of Companies registers its tenth year of consequetive growth of 13.5% for 2007 with a turnover of R37-billion. |
