|
Holland Car Plc will locally assemble a different
and 'stylish' car, Abay, in collaboration with the
Chinese ChongQing LIFAN INDUSTRY GROUP. Holland
imports 70pc-assembled cars and undertakes the
remaining work locally.
Holland Car, which has been assembling its first
car, Docc, jointly with a Dutch company, Trento
Engineering BV, as of January 2005, will no more
produce this car which closely resembles the LADA
cars used as Taxis in the towns.
Named after the longest river in the country, the
latest car has a price tag of 140,000 Br, slightly
higher than the 139,000 Br charged for Docc though
the model of Abay, according industry experts,
notably exceeds that of its predecessor.
Upgrading its capital to 33 million Br, the company
has envisaged to assemble 1,000 cars this budget
year, and 270 before the end of December 2007. A
study conducted by the company indicates that the
demand for cars in Ethiopia is 5,000 per year.
Statistics shows that there are 180,000 cars in the
country, while nearly 80pc (150,000) of the total
cruise the streets of Addis Abeba.
Owned by Tadesse Tessema, Holland Car has installed
its assembly plant in Modjo, 73Km southeast of the
capital, on a 25,000sqm plot.
Tadesse told Fortune that the parts of the cars are
exempted from surtax, which was begun to be levied
on luxury commodities last year as part of the
efforts to lower inflation to single digits.
The agreement between Holland Car and the Chinese
company to assemble Abay was signed last Sunday. The
newest model will have an average fuel consumption
of 6.5lt per 100Km and last for three years.
Founded in 1992 with nine staff and 200,000RMB
(246,000 Br), ChongQing has developed into a large
private-owned company that undertakes car
production, product sales including exporting
abroad, engine production, motor cycle production
and scientific research and development. Apart from
this main industry, the company also has its hands
in financial investment.
In a launching ceremony held at the Hilton Addis
last week Thursday, the Chinese Ambassador stated
that this is the first time for a Chinese company to
make joint ventures in this business in Africa. It
was also announced at the event that the agreement
with the Dutch government came to an end this July,
after it supported the company assembled 48 Docc
cars for two years.
Holland Car is also planning to begin assembling
pick-ups and four-wheel drive cars in collaboration
with another Chinese company, Gonow, in the coming
April, Tadesse disclosed. However he further stated
that Docc would be assembled only by special order.
|
