MOTOR INDUSTRY
Volkswagen SA offers ride-hailing and more with pioneer Kigali plant
Volkswagen SA (VWSA) has launched a subsidiary company in Rwanda to build cars and provide the country with transport services such as car-sharing and Uber-style ride-hailing. MD Thomas Schaefer said on Thursday the new company, Volkswagen Mobility Solutions Rwanda, would begin operations in the second quarter of 2018. The first cars, reassembled from imported kits, could be ready in April. The company, wholly owned by VWSA, was registered this week. The production facility, in the capital Kigali, will have an initial annual capacity of 5,000 units. The first vehicles will be the Polo Hatchback and Jetta Sedan and possibly the Teramont, a large sports utility vehicle. The Polo is built at VWSA’s Uitenhage assembly plant near Port Elizabeth. The latest version is due to be launched in SA next week. Vehicle production and retailing in Rwanda is likely to be managed by a French company, CFAO, which already performs the same duties in Kenya, where VWSA has a small operation building Pol...
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