Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, NETA Auto, has confirmed its ambitions to establish an assembly plant in Kenya as it looks to increase its presence in the country. These plans were made even clearer now that NETA has launched its first flagship store in Nairobi.
Speaking during the store’s launch earlier this month, Eric Lumallas, assistant CEO of Moja EV Kenya, revealed that local assembly of the vehicles is set to start in the next two months.
The NETA Auto assembly plant is set to produce 250 electric vehicles every month. It is expected that more models like the NETA AYA and NETA X will be made available in the country through the plant.
Other than Kenya, NETA Auto also plans to expand to 20 other countries, set up up to 100 outlets and achieve yearly sales of more than 20,000 units in Africa within the next three years.
“By establishing a high-quality service network and providing consumers with excellent after-sales services, NETA Auto aims to become the leader of the new energy car manufacturers in the region,” NETA states.
It is quite clear that the market in Kenya and Africa as a whole still has a long way to go to adapt electric mobility. However, there have been clear efforts by the Kenyan government to promote electric vehicles through favourable policies designed to encourage drivers and companies to acquire electric vehicles as a main mode of road transport.