German automaker and one of top three luxury carmakers in the world, Volkswagen, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the government of Ghana to establish a vehicle assembly facility and to assess the feasibility of a Modern Mobility Concept for Ghana.
The Head of the Sub-Saharan Region of Volkswagen, Thomas Schaefer, and Ghana’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerenmaten, signed the Memorandum of Understanding in the presence of the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, who had been on a working visit to Africa, and the Vice-President of the Republic of Ghana, Mahamudu Bawumia.
Schaefer said the first locally assembled vehicles were planned to be on the streets in Accra in early 2019.
GhanaWeb reported on Friday that the MoU would also include developing a fully-fledged sales and service network in Ghana as well as establishing a Training Academy for Production and After Sales service.
According to the report, Volkswagen undertook to commence with a feasibility study for an integrated mobility solution which would include a review of the commercial viability of introducing car sharing, ride hailing and shuttle services by way of a Ghanaian subsidiary of VWSA, or the appointment of a local service provider.
In turn, the Ghanaian Government undertook to develop a comprehensive Automotive Industry Policy which would incentivise and facilitate vehicle manufacturing and assembly in Ghana. This includes a preferential procurement policy for locally assembled vehicles.
Schaefer said, “We are impressed with the determination and desire of the Ghanaian Government to develop a motor industry. As the second biggest economy in West Africa, Ghana is the ideal next building block in our Sub-Saharan Africa development strategy.
“The realisation of the MOU should see our assembly locations increase from four to five, the other locations are in South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda and Nigeria. Our long term commitment to this region is real and sustainable. We believe that our committed actions and delivery of the last two years are proof of this.
“We continue to work with the German Government on development initiatives and are as committed to Africa as they are. We hope to partner with the German Government in providing training facilities and development opportunities in all the countries that we are operational in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
Volkswagen has a fully-fledged manufacturing facility in South Africa. It also assembles vehicles in Kenya, Nigeria and most recently in Rwanda in conjunction with an Integrated Mobility Solution, offering Community Car Sharing and shortly to be launched ride hailing.
Under its TRANSFORM 2025+ brand strategy, Volkswagen is strengthening the regions and focusing on new up-and-coming markets. Alongside North and South America as well as China, the Sub-Sahara region plays an increasingly important role.
President of the Republic Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo had said, “Ghana is committed to developing a modern automotive and vehicle assembly industry as one of the new strategic anchor industries, which is part of our industrial transformation agenda.
