In the 1960s, the brothers Thys and Andries Bekker imported the first Datsun 1000 pick-up to South Africa.

[1] Opened in 1966, the factory was initially a free assembly plant for the South African market, as the Bekker brothers awarded the Nissan concession to the mining company Messina Transvaal, which was interested in a greater diversification of the assembly.

[9][10] With the start of production of the Fiat Uno in 1988, a new parent company called Automakers SA Ltd. was founded.

[1][19] In the next few years, the product range was supplemented by vehicles from the brands Peugeot and Citroën.

[13] The pickup models NP200 and NP300 as well as the Nissan Livina and the Sandero of the Alliance partner Renault are currently under construction.

[21][14][16][30] In the years 1976 to 1978 (or 1976 and 1978[9]), with its brand Datsun, Nissan was the leading supplier in South Africa.