Economic uncertainty, currency depreciation, and bloated operational costs have pushed vehicle manufacturer CMC Motors Group out of the East African markets after 40 years of operations.
- •The subsidiary of CMC Holdings announced on Friday that it had complied with local regulations and distributorship agreements before winding up its operations in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
- •The company tried to restructure its operations in 2023 but the business environment has not been kinder to their business.
- •CMC, which was previously listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), is wholly owned by the Al-Futtaim Group after the Dubai-based company acquired it for KSh 7.9bn in 2014.
“Despite restructuring efforts and a transformation program initiated in 2023, the market conditions have not provided a sustainable path forward,” the company said in a statement on Friday.
In April 2023, the company laid off 169 employees and exited the passenger vehicle market.
The declining sales of various models of vehicles by CMC Motors over the years has seen rivals seize the dealership rights. In March 2024, CMC lost its dealership of UD Trucks to Isuzu East Africa. In 2022, CMC Motors lost the Renault truck dealership to Caetano Kenya. This followed another string of losses in its dealership of Jaguar Land Rover to Inchcape and Suzuki cars franchise in 2018 to Toyota Kenya.
Other subsidiaries under CMC Holdings Ltd include Cooper Motor Corporation (Uganda) Ltd, Hughes Motors (Tanzania) Ltd, and a 33% shareholding in Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers Ltd.