Daimler Trucks Asia, in association with its Kenyan partners Simba Colt and Associated Vehicles Assemblers (AVA), has begun ‘completely knocked down’ (CKD) production of the new Fuso range in Kenya.
Fuso vehicles will be produced at the AVA assembly plant in Mombasa, Daimler Trucks Asia said in a statement.
“We have been successfully exporting completely built-up all-new robust Fuso vehicles from India for almost three years – and now we enter the next stage with the assembly of vehicles in Africa, for Africa,” said Erich Nesselhauf, managing director and CEO, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles.
Simba Colt Motors is one of Fuso’s oldest distributors worldwide, and has been a partner of the brand for 48 years. Meanwhile, AVA has been involved in the assembly of Fuso products imported from Japan since 1982.
The project to add the Fuso 2523C heavy-duty truck to the AVA assembly plant’s portfolio was completed in a record time of five months, the statement said. Further models from the range will be added subsequently.
The start of production in Kenya underlines the German brand’s commitment to the African market, said Marc Llistosella, president and CEO of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) and head of Daimler Trucks Asia.
“It also marks another significant development of Daimler’s business on the continent just weeks after the grand opening of the Daimler’s regional centre in Nairobi, which brings us closer to our commercial vehicle customers in East, Central and West Africa.”
In 2015, MFTBC sold a total of about 154,200 vehicles including light-, medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses under the Fuso brand. Daimler AG owns 89.29% of the company, and various Mitsubishi group companies own the remaining 10.71% of shares.
Daimler India Commercial Vehicles is a 100% subsidiary of Daimler AG, and currently produces and sells 9-49t trucks for the Indian market, under the BharatBenz brand. DICV also builds Fuso trucks at its plant in Oragadam in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, from where they are exported to markets in South East Asia, Africa, and Latin America.