Crown Motors Kenya Limited CEO Chris Angell during the interview August 18. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA.
What you need to know:
Mr Chris Angell will be the chief executive and a minority shareholder of Nissan’s new franchisee, Crown Motors Kenya Limited.
The firm was recently incorporated in Kenya and takes over the Nissan franchise from DT Dobie, which is expected to have completed the phase-out of the Japanese brand by September.
Mr Angell said South Africa’s AMH Group is the majority shareholder with a 60 per cent interest in the dealer that is setting up shop along Uhuru Highway in Nairobi.
A former executive of car dealer DT Dobie has teamed up with a group of local investors to acquire a stake in the new Kenyan holder of the Nissan vehicles franchise.
Mr Chris Angell, who was the marketing and dealer manager at DT Dobie for a decade until 2009, will be the chief executive and a minority shareholder of Nissan’s new franchisee, Crown Motors Kenya Limited.
Crown was recently incorporated in Kenya and takes over the Nissan franchise from DT Dobie, which is expected to have completed the phase-out of the Japanese brand by September.
“I am a minority shareholder in Crown,” Mr Angell told Business Daily in an interview, adding that the combined stake of local investors in the new dealership stands at 40 per cent.
Mr Angell said South Africa’s AMH Group is the majority shareholder with a 60 per cent interest in the dealer that is setting up shop along Uhuru Highway in Nairobi.
The former DT Dobie executive declined to disclose the identities of other local shareholders in the firm, but reliable sources said they include investors in the car industry.
One of them is Mohamed Zubedi, a cousin of Ali Zubedi who runs Transafrica Motors that sells FAW trucks and Honda cars in Kenya. Mr Mohamed Zubedi runs a used-car dealership in Dubai.
Mr Ali Zubedi said his cousin has invested in Crown in his individual capacity and that Transafrica has no association with the new Nissan dealer.
A Mombasa-based tyre distributor is also part of the consortium that formed the joint venture with AMH that is seeking partners with deep pockets and industry knowledge to help drive Nissan sales.
Mr Angel had worked for DT Dobie for 23 years in various senior roles, giving him significant experience in the Nissan brand and the general auto dealership business.
He is joining Crown from Panafrican Equipment—the dealer of Komatsu mining and construction equipment— where he has been the general manager.
Mr Zubedi and the tyre distributor also bring experience in the car industry and financial backing to the startup that plans to open a branch in Mombasa by year-end.
AMH had initially planned to form a joint venture with an existing dealer in Kenya to fast-track the transition of the Nissan franchise from DT Dobie.
Jaguar Land Rover dealer RMA Kenya is one of the firms that had sought a tie-up with AMH.
It is unclear what led to the collapse of the talks that has seen the South African firm opt to start operations from scratch with the local investors.
Crown is in the middle of a recruitment drive as it races to open its doors by the end of this month. Mr Angell said the company is investing in a service centre along Mombasa Road as it moves to complete the construction of its showroom along Uhuru Highway.
“We are going to appoint sub-dealers to expand our distribution network,” Mr Angell said.
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