Daimler's South African Mercedes-Benz plant in East London, Eastern Cape province, has built its one millionth passenger car - a white, right hand drive, C-Class sedan. The latest generation has been produced since May 2014 in East London - one of four factories world wide making the model line - and this is the fourth generation to be built in South Africa. Bremen, Germany, is the lead plant and the others are Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Beijing.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 2nd June 2015

Indian automobile manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has opened a business unit in Africa with a view to capitalizing on the emerging market opportunities in the continent. The company, which has opened its local office in South Africa, will come up with three more similar units in Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya. The new additions will work with local companies and employees. Playing the role of internal distributor for the carmaker,.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 2nd June 2015

Chinese car maker, Foton, is setting up a car show room and after-sales service centre worth $10m (about sh30b) at Namanve Industrial Park, in Mukono district. This was revealed last week by Chinese ambassador to Uganda, Zhao Yali, while handing over a donation of an executive van and partition screens to the acting minister of Foreign Affairs, Henry Okello Oryem, at the ministry’s headquarters in Kampala. Yali said Foton has already.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 27th May 2015

Arusha — TANZANIA has started manufacturing special cars and going to the extent of exporting them to as far as South Africa and Europe. The Arusha-based factory, Hanspaul Automechs Limited, which fabricates specially designed 'Safari' vehicles, has started exporting its products, popularly known as 'War Buses' to the neighbouring country of Kenya, South-Africa and European countries. Vice-President, Dr Mohamed Gharib Bilal, recently.... Read more »

Posted on : Saturday , 23rd May 2015

SELF driving cars which may come to Tanzania by 2027 will help reduce deaths on local roads, experts from an online car marketing portal, Carmudi Tanzania Limited said. In a statement, Carmudi said although the idea of a self driving car seems to be distant for the local market which is one of the most deadly when it comes to driving in Africa. "In addition to cutting costs, self driving cars can save lives. The majority of crashes in.... Read more »

Posted on : Saturday , 23rd May 2015

The Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited (IVM) made history late in November 2014, when it unveiled 500 made-in-Nigeria cars, built at its plant in Umudim, Nnewi, Anambra State, thus becoming the first indigenous manufacturer to achieve this milestone. The vehicles – the IVM Fox hatchback and the IVM Umu saloon cars – are built mainly with local content and are priced lower than imported brands. The Fox, a five-seater,.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 27th April 2015

The government has once again expressed its commitment to reviving the Arusha-based General Tyre East African Limited (GTEA) factory before the end of this year.   Janeth Mbene,  the  deputy Minister for Industry and Trade was last week here to brief on the government’s plans on reviving the tyre-making plant.   “As government, we are interested to see the factory resumes operation as soon as possible. But, I.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 27th January 2015

The number of new cars sold in Kenya jumped 18 percent last year and is expected to grow further this year, reflecting middle-class demand and growth in sectors such as construction, the industry association said on Wednesday. The east African nation's car market is dominated by low-priced second-hand imports from countries such as Japan, but investors monitor new car sales to gauge the health of the economy. New car sales rose to 17,179 in.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 23rd January 2015

 IMPORTERS of used motor vehicles yesterday accused the Kenya Bureau of Standards of "selectively" extending the contract for two pre-shipment inspection companies, leaving out a major player in the sector.The Car Importers Association of Kenya said the decision to extend the contract for Quality Inspection Services Inc, Japan and Auto Terminal Japan, leaving out Japan Export Vehicle Inspection Centre Company Ltd is.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 19th January 2015

 Rising demand for luxury cars and increased orders for commercial vehicles pushed new motor vehicles sales to a record high last year, reflecting wealthy Kenyans’ growing penchant for high-end goods and vibrant economic activity.   Data from the Kenya Motor Industry Association (KMI) shows that new vehicle dealers sold 17,499 units in 2014, marking a new high since the liberalisation of the local motor trade in the 1990s that.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 15th January 2015

India’s Tata Group yesterday said it is in talks with partners in Africa to set up new assembly lines for commercial and passenger vehicles in Kenya and Tunisia.   Tata Motors head of international business R.T. Wasan said that the company will form alliances to sell commercial vehicles in Africa.   “We have identified a few partners in Tunisia and Kenya,” said Wasan. “They will be assembling our small,.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 11th December 2014

TVS has officially commissioned its assembly line at Nakuru, Kenya. It has also officially announced that there will be two bikes launched specifically catering to the usability, reliability and durability needs of the Kenyan markets. TVS has been present in the Kenyan market for more than 10 years and shares its distribution efforts with Kenya-based Car & General. The TVS two-wheelers sold in the Kenyan market are the MAX 4R, Star.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 11th December 2014