The local automotive industry has recently made great strides, especially in the vehicle assembly sector, seeing that a number of International companies are assembling their cars here in Kenya.
On Tuesday, 10th March 2020, Volkswagen started locally assembling its 7-seater VW Tiguan Allspace SUVs, which will retail at about KSh5.5 million. In December, the car maker also launched a local assembly of its 5-seater Tiguan SUV, set to retail at about KSh4.5 million.
According to DT Dobie, Volkswagen dealer, they already sold 28 pre-orders with another 40 units currently under assembly.
Assembly of the Volkswagen SUVs is being done at Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers (KVM) Thika Plant.
On Monday, 9th March 2020, Indian car maker, Mahindra & Mahindra, unveiled its first batch of locally-assembled Scorpio double and single cab pick-up models, which will be assembled at Simba Corporation’s Associated Vehicle Assemblers (AVA) plant in Mombasa.
Speaking during the unveiling, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed the National Treasury and the Kenya Revenue Authority to immediately device ways of reducing taxes for vehicles that are fully assembled locally, adding that it is a great avenue for job creation.
Furthermore, Japanese automaker, UD Trucks Corporation, a subsidiary of Volvo Group, has relaunched its trucks in Kenya, appointing CMC Motors Limited as its dealer. Just like Volkswagen’s SUVs, the UD trucks will be assembled at the KVM plant in Thika.
Other global automakers that have boosted the local automotive industry with assembly plants include Toyota and Peugeot, with vehicles including salon cars, buses, pickups, mini-buses and trucks. Additionally, PSA Group and Urysia Limited partnered to assemble Peugeot 3008 utility cars in Kenya.
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