Kenya signs a Sh2.6 billion contract with a Chinese company for electric vehicle assembly

Posted on : Monday, 5th August 2024

Chinese automaker Chery plans to increase its production of electric vehicles (EVs) in Kenya by investing Sh2.62 billion.

 

The agreement, which was signed, was a collaboration with the Kenyan company Afrigreen Automobile and calls for building an assembly manufacturing plant to generate electric cars domestically.

 

Principal Secretary Abubakar Hassan Abubakar of the Ministry of Investments, Trade, and Industry stated that the partnership is anticipated to increase the adoption of EVs in the nation by lowering their cost and increasing their accessibility.

 

With only 4,000 e-vehicles and 1.7 million cars on the road, the assembly plant will contribute to the transportation industry's greener growth, according to Hassan.

 

Senior Kenyan government representatives were among the guests at the occasion, along with a high-level delegation from the Anhui Province in East China.

 

He continued by saying that 3,000 direct and indirect jobs should be created in the nation with a 20 million USD investment.

 

Furthermore, according to Hai Wei, Director of Chery International for the Central Africa Region, Kenya was chosen to host the assembly facility due to its highly skilled labor force and status as an important economic hub in Africa.

 

Hai also mentioned Chery's 26 years of creative research, which might assist create vehicles that are appropriate for the regional market.

 

Shan Xiangqian, the vice-governor of Anhui Province, stated that Kenya's reputation as a hub for e-mobility will be improved by the partnership between the two companies.

 

Shan further disclosed that the friendly and long-standing ties between the two nations are what led to Chery's debut into the Kenyan market.

 

Furthermore, the plant should be operational within the next month and have the potential to produce between 5000 and 6000 EVs yearly, according to Nishant Mishra, worldwide head of Future Mobility at Afrigreen Automobile.

 

According to Mishra, they will start producing the Omoda sport utility vehicle, which is appropriate for both urban and rural environments, then move on to pickups the following year.