NAIROBI (Reuters) – German automaker Volkswagen (VW) plans to double output at its Kenyan assembly plant and could build a second model there, Kenya’s presidential office said without giving a timeline.
VW set up the vehicle assembly plant in 2016, resuming production in Kenya after a four decade break. The plant has started by assembling VW’s Vivo model.
President Uhuru Kenyatta was told by VW’s South Africa chief Thomas Schaefer “the firm was exploring producing a second model in Kenya, possibly a hatchback – small SUV – while doubling production of the VW Polo Vivo to at least 300 vehicles,” the presidential office said in a statement late on Friday.
VW to double production in Kenya; explores second model https://t.co/GNZaQbjo63 pic.twitter.com/GIFdFrgrGj
— Uhuru Kenyatta (@UKenyatta) January 12, 2018
VW has long experience operating in emerging markets. But Kenya’s car market is dominated by low-priced, second-hand imports from countries, such as Japan.
http://cnbc.africa/news/special-report/2015/07/10/vw-brings-car/
Other brands assembling vehicles in Kenya include Isuzu, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Peugeot.
Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Edmund Blair
