Editing BMW (section)

==== South Africa ====
{{main|BMW South Africa}}
BMWs have been assembled in South Africa since 1968,<ref>{{cite web|title=Corporate Information: History |publisher=BMW South Africa|url=http://www.bmw.co.za/products/automobiles/bmw_insights/history.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070425185539/http://www.bmw.co.za/products/automobiles/bmw_insights/history.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 April 2007}}</ref> when Praetor Monteerders' plant was opened in [[Rosslyn, Gauteng|Rosslyn]], near [[Pretoria]]. BMW initially bought shares in the company, before fully acquiring it in 1975; in so doing, the company became ''BMW South Africa'', the first wholly owned subsidiary of BMW to be established outside Germany. Unlike United States manufacturers, such as [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] and [[General Motors|GM]], which divested from the country in the 1980s, BMW retained full ownership of its operations in South Africa.

Following the end of [[apartheid]] in 1994, and the lowering of import tariffs, BMW South Africa ended local production of the 5 Series and 7 Series, in order to concentrate on production of the 3 Series for the export market. South African–built BMWs are now exported to [[right hand drive]] markets including Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong, as well as [[Sub-Saharan Africa]]. Since 1997, BMW South Africa has produced vehicles in [[left-hand drive]] for export to Taiwan, the United States and Iran, as well as South America.

Three unique models that [[BMW Motorsport]] created for the South African market were the [[BMW E23|E23]] M745i (1983), which used the [[BMW M88|M88]] engine from the [[BMW M1]], the BMW 333i (1986), which added a six-cylinder 3.2-litre [[BMW M30|M30]] engine to the [[BMW E30|E30]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bmwplant.co.za/Content/frame_content.jsp@content=http-3a-2f-2fhaf0gau02~5.htm |title=BMW South Africa – Plant Rosslyn |publisher=Bmwplant.co.za |access-date=11 April 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327080227/http://www.bmwplant.co.za/Content/frame_content.jsp@content=http-3a-2f-2fhaf0gau02~5.htm |archive-date=27 March 2009}}</ref> and the [[BMW 3 Series (E30)|E30]] BMW 325is (1989) which was powered by an [[Alpina]]-derived 2.7-litre engine.

The plant code (position 11 in the VIN) for South African built models is "N".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Manufacturer's Information Dabase|url=https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/mid/home/displayfile/ae84a23f-b450-43ee-a7ea-ed4ce5e1f0b3 |website=NHTSA}}</ref>