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Volkswagen ‘to start assembling cars in Kenya’

By PSCU September 7th, 2016 1 min read

Kenya is back in the business of assembling vehicles after Volkswagen South Africa signed a deal with the Government to assemble vehicles in Thika.

Volkswagen has signed a deal to use the Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers in Thika to assemble its popular models beginning with the Volkswagen Vivo.

The first fully Kenya assembled Vivo is expected to roll out of the Thika plant by December this year.

FULLY FLEDGED ASSEMBLY

Making the announcement today, President Uhuru Kenyatta said the plant will then expand into a fully fledged assembly operation producing a range of vehicle makes.

“I am happy to welcome back the Volkswagen Group, currently the largest car manufacturer in the world, back to Kenya,” said President Kenyatta.

The German automaker used to operate in Kenya in the 1960s until 1977 and used to assemble Volkswagen vans, microbuses and the famous Kombi.

President Kenyatta said the return of Volkswagen is a sign of the economic transformation Kenya has undergone. He said the venture will create jobs for many Kenyans.

MILESTONE

“This is a milestone in my administration’s determined push to grow the manufacturing base and transform Kenya into an industrialized nation. We are in the early stages of transformation,” said the President.

 

 

The Volkswagen South Africa CEO Thomas Schafer his company is excited to be back in Kenya.

“We were in Kenya in the 1960 and 70’s and resuming operations here is part of our Africa strategy,” said Mr Schafer.

Mr Schafer said Kenya has a huge potential to be a vehicle exporting country that serves the wider Eastern Africa region.

“The Volkswagen Group is excited to be here and we will start operations immediately,” he said.