A second Port Elizabeth-based motor assembler has started expanding its African manufacturing footprint out of South Africa. Isuzu Motors South Africa has started supplying knocked down (KD) Isuzu D-MAX pick-up kits for an assembly plant in Kenya. “This represents the first intra-continental regional trade exchange of its kind for Isuzu on the continent and is aligned to its strategy for its South African vehicle assembly plant to serve as a hub for growing its overall volumes in Sub-Saharan Africa” says the company in a statement.Volkswagen South Africa has been on the Africa expansion trail for more than two years.It now assembles vehicles in Kenya and Rwanda, with some components supplied out of Port Elizabeth.Work on a new assembly plant in Ghana is expected to start in April this year, and there are advanced plans to set up an assembly plant in Nigeria. According to Isuzu, its East African operation previously focused only on truck and bus assembly operations while fully importing light commercial vehicles from South Africa.Isuzu had a 44.5% share of the Kenyan new vehicle market in 2019, according to Isuzu Motors South Africa CEO and managing director Michael Sacke.“Some of the vehicle kits have already arrived in Kenya and the Kenyan team received comprehensive training in Port Elizabeth late last year in preparation for actual operations," said Sacke.The vehicle kits are exported through the port of Ngqura providing additional volume at the port while ensuring job retention at the South African plant, he says.
