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Africa may be one of the last untapped continents for automakers and one of the largest growth markets in the future. But the opportunity is now for carmakers such as Uganda-based Kiira Motors, Kenya-based Mobius Motors, Nigeria-based Innoson and Ghana-based Kantanka Motors, they say.
“The automotive industry presents one of the fiercest competitive market environments,” Kiira Chief Executive Paul Isaac Musasizi told the Wall Street Journal. “We need to remain focused, courageous and committed.”
His commitment is shared by other automakers such as Ford, who recently announced that it would produce 5,000 trucks at a plant in Nigeria for sale within the continent. Hyundai said they would invest $22 million to build an assembly plant in Nairobi and expand dealerships.
A cursory look at market penetration for automakers looks promising — no African country cracks the top 50 in vehicles per capita.
According to Ward’s Auto, East African countries such as Kenya are registering more new cars than before, with total registrations increasing 9 percent in 2014 from 2013. Most of those cars are used imported examples, though new car purchases were up in the country last year as well.
All that may be why startups such as Kiira, which makes hybrids, are looking for investors to build locally produced cars for Africa, which places taxes on imported parts like headlights and batteries.
The continent’s most economically developed country, South Africa, has manufacturing plants for BMW, General Motors, Mercedes Benz, Nissan, Renault, Toyota and Volkswagen, which exported 271,000 cars in 2010.
That could create a favorable, home-grown automotive business if the countries labor supply settles into consistent manufacturing.
The post Could Africa Support Its Own Auto Industry? appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
