Mozambique is rapidly developing an automotive assembly industry

21st November 2014

By: Keith Campbell

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

Font size: - +

A $5.45-million plant to assemble Hyundai light motor vehicles was officially opened by outgoing Mozambique President Armando Guebuza on November 6. Located in the town of Matola, in Maputo province, the plant has been erected by the Somyoung consortium, which is a partnership between Mozambique private sector enterprise Somotor and South Korean business YoungSom. Somotor is the majority shareholder in Somyoung, reported the Mozambique news agency AIM.

The new plant has a maximum production capacity of 4 500 vehicles a year, but production will be ramped up to this figure over the next few years. Currently, it is producing five cars a day. During next year, production is planned to total 1 200 units, rising to 2 500 vehicles in 2016 and reaching full capacity in 2017. The models now being assembled are the Hyundai i10 and the Accent 1.6. The newspaper O País reported that the i20 would also be assembled at the plant.

In his address at the opening of the plant, Guebuza pointed out that Mozambique was a gateway to the Southern African Development Community markets. He highlighted that the country’s Strategic Industrial Policy was based on the principle of ever improving the country’s business and infrastructure environment to reduce the costs of, and remove the barriers to, the private sector recognising opportunities. He emphasised the role of the Mozambique private sector in the project and that jobs had been created.

The output of the new plant will be directed at both the local and regional export markets. The vehicles produced by the facility are expected to cost some 30% less than the same models imported into the country. Thus, locally assembled i20s will cost 356 500 meticais, whereas imported i20s cost about 497 000 meticais. The locally assembled Accents will have a price of 713 000 meticiais, compared with 1 007 000 meticais for the imported cars.

The Somyoung facility is the second automotive assembly plant opened in Mozambique in a just over a month. On October 2, Guebuza officially opened the Matchedje vehicle assembly plant, in Machava, also in Maputo province. This was the country’s first vehicle assembly plant and is the result of an investment of $150-million by China Tong Jian Investment Company, undertaken with the encouragement and facilitation of the Mozambique government (which originally conceived the idea for the project). The setting up of the plant was a three-year programme, O País reported. It was built on the site of old CFM (Mozambique Ports and Railways) facilities, now demolished.

The programme will be developed in two phases, the newspaper added. In the first phase, the plant will assemble semi-knocked-down kits on two assembly lines: one for vehicles of more than 2 t and the other for vehicles less than 2 t. There is also a paint section, an inspection area and a test track. Production capacity will be some 30 000 vehicles a year. A network of dealers is being set up.

In the second phase (2016 to 2017), the plant will be expanded and assemble completely knocked down kits and have a full paint shop, a welding shop and other infrastructure. Capacity will be 100 000 units a year. Currently, the plant appears to be producing only pick-up trucks (‘bakkies’ in South African terminology), in double- and single-cab formats. Again, the output is aimed at both the Mozambique and export markets. According to the company’s website, it will also produce buses and electric scooters, later adding other types of vehicle as well. It expects to ultimately reach a production capacity of 500 000 vehicles a year.

The first Matchedje vehicle actually rolled off the assembly line on September 25. The first vehicle sold to a customer was handed over on October 9.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION