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Traffic in Accra, Ghana. Business VW sees
confidence is at its highest since 2014 potential in
East Africa
Ghana up, but Zambia drops
GLOBAL AUTO GIANT VOLKSWAGEN
AFRICA MUST STILL BE VIEWED AS its inflation over the last six months has indicated that it sees growing
consumer potential in East Africa with
a long-term prospect and companies from 6% to 23%; and South Africa’s the announcement of an assembly facility
in Kenya that will produce the Polo Vivo
that enter its markets need the weaker position – as shown by it small passenger car. It is the company’s
third plant on the continent, as it already
stamina to weather both good falling from seventh to eighth in has facilities in South Africa and Nigeria.

and bad market conditions. Global the overall rankings.” Reuters noted that VW is “looking to
sell more vehicles across the East African
insights company Nielsen says this is region” and pointed out that the German
company is no stranger to emerging
vital because, despite the continent’s markets. It had, for example, had great
success with the Beetle model in Mexico,
obvious potential over the next 10-50 Year of volatility the news agency reported.

years, it seems that investors have and change in many Kenya’s car market is dominated by
to a certain degree been seduced by African countries imported second-hand models from
short-term numbers. countries such as Japan, although there
is some local assembly of vehicles by
The third edition of the Africa various brands.

Prospects Indicator Report says 2016 “We believe that Kenya has got the
potential to develop a very big fully-fledged
is proving to be a year of volatility and On the positive side, Ivory Coast, automotive industry. The East African
Community has got the potential and today
is the first step in this direction that we
want to take with our passenger cars,”
VW’s Thomas Schafer said at the signing of
an agreement between the parties involved.

change in the 26 African countries Kenya and Tanzania maintained first,

reviewed by Nielsen. second and third place on the latest

“This is apparent, given that six of prospects ranking. The report says

the top nine countries have shifted in they currently provide more stable

position over the past six months,” investment destinations than the

the report says. “These include larger economies.

Nigeria, which declined four places Zambia plummeted from fourth

due to the rebasing of its currency to ninth position. However, in Ghana

and commodity price volatility; business sentiment was at its most

Zambia, largely due to a spike in favourable since mid-2014.

6 strategicmarketingafrica Issue 4 2016