A group of 18 vehicle components manufacturers from automotive manufacturing countries are in Ghana for a-week long exploration of the country’s automotive ecosystem with a view to establishing new car plants.
The group, which is the fifth of its kind to come to Ghana, was brought in by Volkswagen. Its members are based in Germany, India, Mexico and South Africa, among others, and are seeking opportunities to establish plants in Ghana.
The group communications director of Volkswagen, Andile Dlamini, announced this when a delegation from Volkswagen paid a courtesy call on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at Jubilee House in Accra on Friday (17 March 2023).
Led by the chair and managing director of Volkswagen Group South Africa, Martina Biene, members of the group were in the country for the launch of an US$8 million assembly plant in Tema last Thursday.
With an installed capacity of 5,000 units per annum, the new facility will assemble the T-Cross, Tiguan, Amarok and Virtus models of the VW range of vehicles, creating 80 jobs, including local third-party service suppliers.
With this new facility, the country becomes the fourth assembling location for VW vehicles in sub-Saharan Africa, joining the league of South Africa, which is host to the company’s largest assembly plant, with Kenya and Rwanda.
Investors
Dilating on the interest of component manufacturers, Dlamini said the investors had been meeting with assemblers, dealers, government entities and infrastructure managers to understand what the ecosystem offers.
He added that they were interested in investing in Ghana, adding: “We fully support the policy that will be implemented.
“We believe in Ghana; we believe in it as the hub of Africa.”
Showcase
For her part, Martina Biene said the opening of the facility last Thursday in Tema was to showcase the next step of the company’s commitment to the journey that began in 2018.
She argued that the new plant also marked Africa’s automotive journey.
Policy
She described the automotive policy in Ghana as “probably the most advanced and the most well-thought-through, which could also make Ghana the West African hub of the automotive industry”.
She gave her assurance that the company would stay in Ghana and complete the successful journey with the country and would take the next brave steps of growing the Ghana-based automotive industry.
President Akufo-Addo said the national automotive policy was meant to offer clarity to anybody interested in any aspect of the industry in Ghana and expressed his delight that the policy continues to have an impact.
He said the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a game-changer and this is the reason why Ghana ensured that the AfCFTA Secretariat was brought to Accra to make the country the commercial hub of Africa.
“We want industrialists to take advantage of the AfCFTA and use Ghana as the gateway,” the president said.
He also indicated that Ghana was interested in integration, where components will be manufactured in Ghana, and the skills of the workforce upgraded, using the country’s resources.
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