Car & General begins assembly of motorcycles in Nakuru plant
Motorcycle taxi operators wait for customers at Luanda market, Vihiga County. The annual demand for motorcycles in the country has increased from 16,293 in 2007 to 140,215 in 2011. Photo/FILE
Car and General has started local assembly of motorcycles in Kenya to capture the growing demand in the East Africa region.
The Nairobi-listed auto firm is the second after Japan’s Honda Motor Co to assemble the two and three wheelers locally and will unveil its Nakuru plant on Tuesday.
The plant, with an initial production capacity of 240 motorcycles per day or 70,000 units per year, will boost the profile of Kenya’s auto business at a time that car dealers, including Toyota, India’s Tata Motors, Hyundai Motor Company and China’s Foton, are showing a bias for local assembly.
Car and General has been importing Yamaha and India’s branded TVS motorcycle brands and the Indian firm will feed its Nakuru factory with assembly parts.
The annual demand for motorcycles in the country has increased from 16,293 in 2007 to 140,215 in 2011 as more East Africans use them for public transport.
‘‘The decision to set up a motorcycle assembling plant in Kenya is due to the tax implications and the growth of the motorcycle usage in the country,’’ said Ndakala Atanda, the marketing manager of Car and General.
The Nakuru plant will be the first in Africa to assemble TVS motorcycles and will initially employ 45 workers.
Car and General is seeking a larger share of the motorcycle market that is dominated by brands from China and India through a lower tax bill provided to local assemblers to offer competitive pricing.
Imports of parts used in local assembly are exempted from the 25 per cent import duty levied on fully built units, giving room to the assemblers to produce cheaper units.
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
