Fidel, team leader in component section of FAW

"I’ve been working for FAW for 13 years. It’s good to see the company growing as you are." Fidel, team leader in component section of FAW factory in Johannesburg, South Africa, has dealt with a variety of engines through these years.

Every three years, FAW transfer a new group of Chinese staff members from their headquarter to Joburg. Yet Fidel has kept a closed relationship with his Chinese colleagues. "There’s some kind of special connections between me and FAW, especially the Chinese people here. I don’t plan to leave for better wages. There’s no need to go find another job."

FAW has been in South African market for 20 years providing passenger and commercial vehicles. It officially opened its vehicle manufacturing plant at Coega, Nelson Mandela Bay, in the Eastern Cape this July, becoming one of the most important and largest investments made by a Chinese entity in South Africa to date.

As the S.A president Jacob Zuma noted in his speech at the opening ceremony, the investment of R600 million into the economy would create much needed jobs and promote an improvement in the lives of many people in the area.

The investment also augurs well for South Africa's position within the global automotive manufacturing network and proves once again that S.A. has an attractive operating environment to host global multinational companies.