Mitsubishi to produce autos in Africa again after 10-year hiatus

Jul 17 (Nikkei) - Mitsubishi Motors will begin producing compact commercial vehicles in Kenya in early August, as tariffs in Africa are expected to be lifted in the near future under a regional free trade agreement that took effect in 2021.

With African nations stepping up efforts to develop their own auto industries to take advantage of the removal of inter-African tariffs, Isuzu Motor and Toyota Motor will also increase production on the continent.

Mitsubishi will resume manufacturing operations in Africa after a hiatus of about 10 years and initially seek to develop a market in Kenya in cooperation with partners such as trading house Mitsubishi Corp., Takao Kato, president and CEO of the Japanese automaker, told Nikkei. The company will examine the possibility of exporting vehicles to neighboring countries in the future.

In Kenya, Mitsubishi Motors will produce its mainline pickup truck L200, sold as the Triton in markets such as Southeast Asia. ...continue reading

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