Toyota Tsusho Manufacturing Ghana Company Limited (TTMG) has officially inaugurated a US$8million car assembly plant in the country to produce the Suzuki Swift brand of vehicles.
The facility, located in Tema, began production in September 2022 – deploying the semi-knockdown (SKD) method in which the parts are typically manufactured in Japan and then exported into the country for final assembly.
The TTMG plant has an annual production capacity of 1,700 units and will employ approximately 50 workers. Assembling the Toyota Hilux pick-up truck in June 2021 was the first time that Toyota Tsusho produced Suzuki vehicles in Africa, as well as a mixed production of the two brands.
The plant results from a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in Developing Automotive Industry signed between Toyota Tsusho and the Government of Ghana at the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) held in Yokohama, Japan, in August 2019.
The official opening ceremony was attended by the caretaker-Minister of Trade and Industry, Samuel Abu Jinapor; the Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Hisanobu Mochizuki; and the Suzuki Managing Officer, Koichi Suzuki.
The Suzuki Managing Officer in his address said: “We would like to expand Suzuki’s presence in Ghana. We hope that the people of Ghana will grow fond of our products, including the Swift”.
In addition, Toyota Tsusho Chief Operations Officer for Africa Division, Shinichiro Otsuka, expressed his gratitude to the government of Ghana for its cooperation and continuous support for the local automobile industry’s development.
This SKD production of the Swift is based on a collaboration agreement concluded between Toyota and Suzuki in March 2019. It has been executed as part of strengthening and expanding the alliance with Toyota Tsusho, which received the full transfer of sales and marketing operations in Africa from Toyota and Suzuki in January 2019.
The Toyota Tsusho Group currently produces vehicles in four countries of Africa: namely Egypt, Kenya, Rwanda and Ghana.
Going forward, Suzuki and Toyota Tsusho hope to continue strengthening and expanding their alliance while tailoring local production to market needs.
