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Swedish truck manufacturer Volvo Trucks is targeting East African growth with its planned $25millon (Sh2.5billion) assembly plant in Mombasa which could see its first locally assembled truck hit Kenyan roads as early (Q1) of 2018.
The truck maker has picked NECST Motors to help drive that growth, bringing to a total of four vehicle manufacturers that are set to establish assembly plants in Kenya. Others are Volkswagen (VW), Peugeot and Iveco.
The franchise makes NECST Motors East Africa Ltd the appointed distributor and seller of Volvo brands in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania with the dealership now expected to raise Volvo’s regional market share, largely dominated by Isuzu and Toyota’s Hino brands.
The new partnership signed in Nairobi yesterday marks an end to Volvo’s association with Portuguese car dealer, Auto-Sueco, which the manufacturer, ranked second-largest in the world after German multi-national automotive company, Daimler Chrysler in unit production said was ‘mutually’ decided.
“We believe that there is a significant potential for the premium truck business as regional economies grow. I am confident that we have found the right partner in NECST Motors,” said Claes Nilsson, President of Volvo Trucks.
The planned investment that includes setting up 20 new workshops across the region and car parts warehouse for Volvo trucks is expected to create 300 direct and indirect jobs.
“We will train employees to equip them with modern skill sets as we aim to drive the truck brand in the region by bringing safe, durable and fuel efficient trucks onto East African roads,” Erik Eberhardson, Co-founder of NECST Motors said.
The partnership deal has also seen Volvo Trucks open a regional office in Nairobi which will be responsible for expanding footprint of the brand in East Africa.
The company said it targets to assemble between 400 and 500 truck units yearly to meet the growing demand for medium and larger trucks, resulting from massive infrastructure projects, oil and gas as well as mining activities across the region.