VW mulls Ethiopia in Africa foray
Economic recovery gives car maker Volkswagen the green light for expansion
Volkswagen (VW) is considering a component assembly plant in Ethiopia, in addition to the two recently announced assembly plants in Ghana and Nigeria. The foray into Africa represents a growth opportunity for the car maker in light of the expected recovery of the continent’s economies recently hit by the downturn in commodities. VW’s car brands include Polo, Golf and Passat. According to the Export-Import Bank’s Africa Trade Report 2018, African economies will grow by 4.1% in 2018. The report has partly attributed the expected growth to the strengthening of oil-producing economies, especially Nigeria, Angola and Libya. VW spokesperson Andile Dlamini said last week the company was exploring expansion into Ethiopia "and component assembly is the initial business we are looking at. Vehicle assembly is also under consideration in the long term." Establishment of the assembly plants could be initial steps towards building manufacturing capacity on the continent.
Dlamini said settin...
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