hello shades, i have been to s.africa several times for business and game park holidays arranged by clients, before and after the rule change.
i found s.africa to be very advance in a lot of ways, and believe it is and will be an leader in sub-sahara africa, which puts it on par with brazil in relation to latin america, except even more strongly positioned.
gm is going outsourcing and leaving the us in a big way, doing what they feel is necessary to remain alive.
they are going big in china, india, korea, ... and now, biggish in s.africa.
i am guessing that it is essential for them to set up an assembly line in some low cost country if they really want to sell h3 outside of usa, else the sales target will not compute.
they could realistically have chosen china, india, s.africa, or brazil.
of the four, india's auto component/assembly culture is probably the least developed.
brazil is behind s.africa in auto industry in many ways.
so, between s.africa and china, two companies in china already knocked-off the military hummer, and will no doubt be exporting should a market be proven to exist
however, i believe gm's s.africa venture will ultimately fail for many reasons.
i did subcontract some gm plant location work many years ago, when i advised china and they chose thailand. they then went to china after asian financial crisis. |
