Did You Know Africa Will Need 5M Vehicles Yearly by 2035?
That’s Not The Total Demand for Vehicles in the Continent, Just Those Produced in Africa
In the recently concluded Korea-Africa Summit, the AfCFTA Secretariat SG—Wamkele Mene—pointed out that Africa would need 5 million cars by 2035 to encourage Hyundai & KIA Motors to invest in the sector.
I have nothing against Hyundai, and the Secretary-General emphasized that the vehicle units would be produced in Africa. Still, it got me curious about African car manufacturers.
Is it possible to have a future where African car manufacturers can meet most of this demand?
The current production level is 1.2 million vehicle units produced in Africa annually. Morocco and South Africa are in the lead, with 471,000 cars produced in Morocco in 2023 and 336,000 in South Africa.
In Ghana, Kantanka Automobile, founded in 1994, has several models on the market, and seventy percent of the brand’s vehicle components are sourced from Africa. The models include:
Onantefo
Omama Pickup
K71, Mensah
Omama Hard Body
Amoanimaa
To my non-African subscribers, it is okay to butcher the pronunciation🤣.
I checked out their website, and as someone who salivates over off-road cars and dreams of a Toyota Land Cruiser (shudders in pleasure), the Kantaka Omama Pickup is pretty amazing.
Still, I’m ashamed to say this is the first time I have heard of this company and its cars.
Let’s discover other African vehicle manufacturers together. Who knows, in the environment created by the AfCFTA, these might be the Toyotas of the future.
Wallys Automobile
Founded by two brothers, Wallys' main headquarters are in Tunisia. In 2023, Wallys announced they expected to produce 600 vehicles annually for export within and outside the continent.
So far, Spain, Qatar, Morocco, and Panama have proved to be popular export markets for Wallys cars. One of their main models gives Jimny vibes, doesn't it?
Kiira Motors
The government of Uganda owns Kiira Motors. Founded in 2014, it aims to manage the manufacture of indigenous vehicles. Makerere University in Kampala is one of Kiira Motors' partners.
Something unique about Kiira is that it also manufactures buses.
The Kayoola EVS is a fully electric bus that is ideal for urban transport. At full charge, it can travel between 200 and 300 kilometers.
Depending on the model, the capacity ranges from 15 to 120 passengers.
Isn't it incredible that customers have a choice between the electric and diesel-powered versions of the Kayoola bus? That’s climate action in action!
Laraki Manufacturing Company
Mohamed Laraki of Morocco founded Laraki in 1999. The company is based in Morocco and manufactures sports cars, which it sells worldwide.
With Morocco producing over 300,000 cars yearly, Laraki is just one of the country's companies.
The enterprise manufactured its first car, the Laraki Fulgura, in 2002.
Like many African manufacturers, it sources its components both locally and abroad. The local market is not sufficiently equipped to provide all the elements.
P.S. The Production of vehicle components seems like a massive opportunity for entrepreneurs interested in this area.
All African manufacturers note that they cannot source all their components locally because they are unavailable.
Also, according to the AfCFTA Secretariat, the automotive sector is one of the four priority sectors that offers an opportunity to boost intra-African trade. The other three are pharmaceuticals, transport and logistics, and agro-processing.
Barkin Car Ltd
Barkin Cars is Africa’s oldest manufacturer. John Watson founded the company in 1982 in Pinetown, South Africa. The country was still under apartheid then, which was not cool, but we cannot discount this brand's South Africanness.
Birkin cars currently grace the streets of Japan, Europe, the US, and other countries. The company is known for superior-quality vehicles; its specialty is sports cars.
Similar to Morocco, South Africa has a good number of vehicle manufacturers.
Honorable Mentions
Mobius Motors of Kenya
Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) of Nigeria
SNVI of Algeria specializes in buses, trucks, and semi-trailers. In the 1980s, before the coups destabilized the region, it had a production capacity of 6000 vehicles per year.
Take Away
I am too attached to the idea of owning a Toyota Landcruiser to discard it altogether.
But there is no crime against owning multiple vehicles. I am now determined to also own a Kantanka, especially the Kantanka Mensah–it’s pretty.
What about you? Now that you know Africa has such incredible manufacturers, would you choose a made-in-Africa vehicle instead of dreaming about Mercedes Benz, BMW, or Lamborghini?
Let’s discuss this in the comment section.
Thank you for reading Africa: Not an Afterthought. We lead the conversation on how Africa can leverage Technology, Trade (AfCFTA), Regional Integration, and Pan-Africanism to build a continent that is no longer an afterthought.
This has been the AfCFTA Friday Edition, in which we break down the complex elements of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to make it practical and digestible for SMEs.
Join us every Friday at 2:30 p.m. EAT, won’t you?
Also, sharing is caring.
Congrats for giving us an insight on the automobile Industry in Africa and how it can contribute to AFCFTA.