General Motors South Africa (Pty) Ltd , or GMSA, was a wholly owned

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

of American automobile manufacturer

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

. It manufactured and distributed automobiles under the

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gr ...

and

Isuzu , commonly known as Isuzu (, ), is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Its principal activity is the production, marketing and sale of Isuzu commercial vehicles and diesel engines ...

brands. The deal with Isuzu was approved by the Competition Commission on 27 November 2017. The company was headquartered in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), South Africa. The company also built

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...

s from 1974 to 1987.GENERAL MOTORS - SOUTH AFRICA
on UtahRails.net

History

Founded in 1913, GMSA initially distributed

vehicles before beginning to manufacture and distribute vehicles of all of GM's brands in 1926, with the Series AA. By the 1960s this included the British

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...

marque and the Ranger, marketed as "South Africa's Own Car". In 1986, it was sold off and rebranded the Delta Motor Corporation as a result of the passage of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act in the United States and subsequent

divestment In finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset for financial, ethical, or political objectives or sale of an existing business by a firm. A divestment is the opposite of an investment. Divestiture is a ...

of General Motors from apartheid South Africa. Delta continued to use the Opel, Isuzu and Suzuki brands under licence from GM as well as pay for the supply of assembly kits. Following the transition to democracy in the 1990s, GM acquired a 49 percent stake in the company in 1997, and in 2004 the company once again became a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors, reverting to its original name. It also assembled vehicles for export to other markets in the region, such as

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, and

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

. General Motors announced its withdrawal from the South African market on 18 May 2017 after GM's top management had informed its workforce and dealers of the decision.

Passenger cars

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

Source: ** Chevrolet Spark Lite (2nd gen model) (2010–2017) ** Chevrolet Spark (2004–2017) ** Chevrolet Aveo/Sonic (2004–2017) ** Chevrolet Cruze (2009–2017) ** Chevrolet Optra (2005-2011) ** Chevrolet Lumina (2000-2013) ** Chevrolet Vivant (2005-2010) ** Chevrolet Orlando (2011–2017) ** Chevrolet Captiva (2006–2017) ** Chevrolet Trailblazer (2012–2017) ** Chevrolet Blazer (1999-2005) 11-09-04-iaa-by-RalfR-153

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gr ...

Source: ** Opel Adam (2012–2017) ** Opel Corsa (5-door) (1982–2017) ** Opel Tigra (2004-2009) ** Opel Astra (5-door, GTC, OPC) (1991–2017) ** Opel Mokka (2012–2017) ** Opel Meriva (2003-2017) ** Opel Zafira (1999-2006)

Hummer Hummer (stylized in all caps) is an American brand of Pickup truck, pickups launched in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. Although discontinued in 2010, Hummer returned as a model under GMC (automob ...

* Hummer H3 (2007-2010)

Commercial vehicles

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

Source: ** Chevrolet Utility (2011–2017) ** Chevrolet Lumina Ute (2004-2013)

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gr ...

Source: ** Opel Corsa Utility (2004–2010) ** Opel Combo (2007-2011) ** Opel Vivaro (2006–2017)

Isuzu , commonly known as Isuzu (, ), is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Its principal activity is the production, marketing and sale of Isuzu commercial vehicles and diesel engines ...

** Isuzu D-Max (2002–2017)

Locomotives

In 1974, General Motors South Africa Ltd. began constructing GM-designed locomotives rather than importing them from the United States. In January 1987, GMSA was sold to local management which continued production as the Delta Motor Corporation. The company failed after one order of 11E-Type locomotives were constructed using GMSA leftovers. Delta Motor Corporation focused instead on

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

engines rather than locomotives, shutting down the plant where the locomotives were constructed. The

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

customers for GMSA (1974–1987) were: * South African Railways * Iscor * African Explosives & Chemical Industries * Anglo-American Coal * Middleburg Steel & Alloys * KwaZulu Finance & Development Corporation * Port of Richards Bay – coal terminal * Bophuthatswana National Development Corporation

Locomotive models

* South African Class 34-600 * South African Class 34-800 * South African Class 35-200 * South African Class 35-600 * South African Class 36-200 * South African Class 11E

Notes

References

External links

* (archived, 15 Apr 2013) {{Automotive industry in South Africa General Motors factories Motor vehicle assembly plants in South Africa Locomotive manufacturers of South Africa Economy of the Eastern Cape Gqeberha 1913 establishments in South Africa South African subsidiaries of foreign companies Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1913 Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of South Africa