RANA Motors to manufacture affordable vehicles in Ghana
Barely six months after commissioning the Kia automobile assembly plant at Amasaman near Accra, auto-dealership company RANA motors says its’ working towards manufacturing vehicles in Ghana and making them more affordable to the populace.
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The company also intends to leverage on the government’s vehicle financing scheme to make the purchase of vehicles affordable to the ordinary Ghanaian.
He added that the scheme will afford Ghanaians the opportunity to purchase locally produced vehicles as well as imported ones on long term basis.
The Chief Operating Officer of Rana Motors, Kassem Odaymat made these revelations to the Graphic Business in an exclusive interview in Accra.
Government Vehicle Financing Scheme
During the inauguration of the newly constituted Ghana Automotive Industry Development Council in January, former Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Alan Keyermaten stated that government will introduce a vehicle financing scheme to make it easier for Ghanaians to purchase vehicles in the country.
He added that the automotive industry thrives on a vehicle financing scheme worldwide explaining that elsewhere people do not buy vehicle with cash in hand as pertains in Ghana.
With the scheme yet to be introduced, Mr Odaymat believes that the policy is the right one for the automotive sector.
“We the government’s auto policy and finance scheme we can make the market more vibrant and there will be more demands for assembled vehicles in the country,” he noted.
Economic crises
He said despite the economic downturn, the company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with KIA Motors to retool the company’s training facilities to train more Ghanaians in electric vehicles.
“We have been training more technicians over the past years and now with this KIA initiative we can start training them to maintain and repair these electric vehicles,” he stated.
He expressed optimism that the economy will remain steady in the next year which will boost vehicle sales and make employ more indigenes at it assemble plant at Amasaman.
“We are working with other stakeholders in the industry to locally produced vehicles accessible and affordable to all Ghanaians, this will also allow us to increase capacity and create more jobs in the future,” he noted.
The KIA Automobile Assembly Plant which was set up by Rana Motors and inaugurated by the President in May will assemble various Kia brands for Ghana and the West African markets.
It currently employs 50 workers and at full capacity it is expected to employ over 400 workers.
Kia is the fourth largest global vehicle manufacturer. The company joins other global car brands including Toyota-Suzuki, Nissan, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Sinotruck, and Ghana’s indigenous brand Kantanka, who have already established assembly plants in the country.
Focus on assembled vehicles
Mr Odaymat noted that his outfit currently assembles six models of vehicles including the Ashok Leyland, Kia and Hyundai trucks.
He added that Rana Motors will continue focusing on locally assembled vehicles and producing vehicles that are affordable and accessible to Ghanaians.
“We hope to provide more solutions in conjunction with the government to make Ghanaians mobile, create jobs and help make Ghana become an automotive hub,” he stated.
