Nissan has appointed its longtime partner, Japan Motors Trading Co. as its local partner in an all-new vehicle assembly facility in Accra.
This is in line with the 2018 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Nissan and the Government of Ghana to lay the foundation for a sustainable automotive manufacturing industry in the country.
The first model to be assembled at the new facility is expected to be done next year beginning with the all-new Nissan Navara pickup which was unveiled by Nissan earlier this month.
The announcement demonstrates Nissan’s on-going commitment to investing in Ghana as well as the expansion of the country’s automotive sector through the Ghana automotive development policy.
Explaining why the Nissan Navara was chosen, Managing Director for Nissan South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Mr. Shinkichi Izumi noted that “We are focusing on the pick-up segment, which is Nissan Navara because Nissan has a strong legacy in pick-ups. It is our strongest asset in Ghana and more than 50% of our market demand is pick-up and our Navara is our best fit”.
He assured that with a long heritage within the pickup segment, the new model will be produced to specifications created for the African market and will meet local conditions, laws and market model standards”.
Touching on the partnership with Japan Motors Mr. Izumi noted that they will work closely with Japan motors because Japan motors is a local assembly handler with an expectation for their historical partners to come on board with the distribution perspective
He noted that Nissan chose to come to Ghana because “the government makes the country’s automotive policy clear and defines development plan, in terms of industrialization, clearly “and that makes sense to us. Nissan is committed to starting local production in Ghana”.
On his part, Managing Director of Japan Motors, Salem Kalmoni expressed gratitude to Nissan for the trust and assured that with Japan Motor’s long experience in the motor industry, it has the financial strength and the stamina to carry through this great venture.
He said the construction of the new facility is underway as are the recruitment and appointment of new employees, skills development and technical training to share and apply Nissan’s global quality production standards.
