Tata Daewoo, a commercial vehicle manufacturer headquartered in South Korea and a subsidiary of India’s Tata Motors, has made an investment of Sh2 billion for two new truck models to be assembled in Kenya.
The two models, Daewoo Novus Tipper and Prime Mover, are being assembled at the Associated Vehicle Assemblers (AVA) plant in Miritini, Mombasa, in partnership with Tata Africa Holding (Kenya) Limited. The assembly will build six Daewoo Novus Tippers and 48 Prime Movers.
Speaking at the launch, Tata International executive director Nareesh Leekha said the aim of the investment is to meet the increasing demand for Daewoo trucks from the transport and construction sectors.
In addition, he said the decision to assemble the two models in Kenya was also driven by several incentives provided by foreign companies that assemble vehicles in the country.
“This is one of our biggest investments (in Africa) after South Africa,” said Mr Leekha. Our plan is to achieve 100 per cent of vehicle assembly to be here in the near future. We are currently in the process of assembling Daewoo buses and the first fleet will be out in the next six months.”
Kim Kwan-Kju, Tata Daewoo’s commercial vehicle president and CEO said the introduction of the new models marks a turn in the firm’s expansion into the Kenyan market.
According to Tata Daewoo, over 20,000 Daewoo trucks are used in 40 countries with Algeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania being the top markets.
The two truck models will be built for the Kenyan terrain and will feature superior technology and power world-class performance. The trucks will also be powerful, durable, safe, and reliable.
The trucks will be sold locally and exported to neighbouring countries.
