Marathon Motor to assemble Hyundai products
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Marathon Motor Engineering signed an assembly technical assistance agreement with Hyundai cementing
the company’s plans to start assembling vehicles in Ethiopia. The agreement was signed on Monday May 29, 2017 and a manufacturing plant is set to be constructed at a cost of half a billion birr.
“Globally, Hyundai is among the top five car makers so the fact that this elite brand will be assembled here will give confidence to others who have plans to invest in the country,” said Melkamu Assefa, CEO and Managing Director of Marathon Motor Engineering Plc who signed the agreement with Mike Song, Head of the Africa and Middle East Department for Hyundai.
The manufacturing plant will be based in Addis Ababa Lafto sub-city on 30,000 square meters of land. It is expected to rollout cars by the first quarter of 2018 and will provide jobs to 200 people.The plant will have the capacity of assembling 2,000 to 2,500 vehicles annually and will have six to eight different models. “Though this, there will be skill and technology transfer, the plant will be very modern, most of the machines will be imported from South Korea and Hyundai will monitor all the technical aspects to maintain the brand’s high standards,” Melkamu said.
Hopes are that this assembly plant will reduce the price of cars in Ethiopia. “There will be a 15 to 18 percent reduction in the selling price over imported cars, since people will be able to afford new cars there will be less accidents and it will also have a significant effect on the environment,” Melkamu said.
According to Marathon Motor Engineering, the company currently controls 30 to 35 percent of the market share in the country and once its assembled cars hit the market, it estimates controlling a 40 percent share. The company was inaugurated May 22, 2016 with two facilities: a six storey building that includes a mega show room, a service center and a training center in Addis Ababa with an investment of 80 million birr and another facility in Hawassa with an investment of over 37 million birr, also equipped with a service center for trucks and buses, as well as a technical training facility.
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