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- May 11, 2013
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Simba Corporation is set to assemble Malaysian car brand Proton in Kenya starting November, aiming to attract price-sensitive middle-class buyers with prices as low as Sh1 million inclusive of taxes.
This will expand the list of passenger cars assembled in the local market, joining Volkswagen Polo Vivo (by DT Dobie) and Peugeot (Urysia).
Assemblers are increasingly taking advantage of tax incentives offered to firms producing locally.
Imports of fully-built vehicles are charged an import duty of 25 percent while completely knocked down (CKD) parts headed to assembly plants are exempt from this tax.
Simba's chief executive Dinesh Kotecha told Business Daily that the company has signed an agreement with Proton Holdings and the first shipment of the car parts has already departed for Kenya.
"We will start assembling the Proton cars at our plant AVA (Associated Vehicle Assemblers) in November," Mr Kotecha said.
"We are targeting people who would have bought used cars. The prices will start from $10,000 (Sh1 million) inclusive of taxes," he said.
Simba plans to sell about 5,000 units of the cars each year.
Proton manufactures several car models including sedans, hatchbacks and SUVs.
Simba is betting that the lower prices will attract professionals and small business owners who have preferred to buy second-hand cars that are cheaper because of depreciation.
Most new cars in Kenya retail at more than Sh3 million, with the VW Polo Vivo among the more competitively priced at Sh1.7 million. The prices of used cars, on the other hand, start from as low as Sh600,000 depending on age, brand and condition.
Formal dealers like Simba and DT Dobie see the combination of the low prices and warranty (of up to three years or 100,000 kilometres) as winning buyers for their budget car line-ups.
The government has also pledged to prioritise purchase of vehicles assembled locally as part of incentives to attract more global automakers. The government last year also banned the imports of used trucks with load capacities of 3.5 tonnes and above.
Local assembly is seen as critical in creating jobs and skills transfer. Isuzu East Africa, AVA and Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers (KVM) are the major assemblers in the country.
They have mostly produced commercial vehicles –buses, trucks and pick-ups— over the decades as most passenger cars were shipped in fully-built as new or used models.
Source: Simba to assemble Sh1m Malaysian car in Kenya from Nov
This will expand the list of passenger cars assembled in the local market, joining Volkswagen Polo Vivo (by DT Dobie) and Peugeot (Urysia).
Assemblers are increasingly taking advantage of tax incentives offered to firms producing locally.
Imports of fully-built vehicles are charged an import duty of 25 percent while completely knocked down (CKD) parts headed to assembly plants are exempt from this tax.
Simba's chief executive Dinesh Kotecha told Business Daily that the company has signed an agreement with Proton Holdings and the first shipment of the car parts has already departed for Kenya.
"We will start assembling the Proton cars at our plant AVA (Associated Vehicle Assemblers) in November," Mr Kotecha said.
"We are targeting people who would have bought used cars. The prices will start from $10,000 (Sh1 million) inclusive of taxes," he said.
Simba plans to sell about 5,000 units of the cars each year.
Proton manufactures several car models including sedans, hatchbacks and SUVs.
Simba is betting that the lower prices will attract professionals and small business owners who have preferred to buy second-hand cars that are cheaper because of depreciation.
Most new cars in Kenya retail at more than Sh3 million, with the VW Polo Vivo among the more competitively priced at Sh1.7 million. The prices of used cars, on the other hand, start from as low as Sh600,000 depending on age, brand and condition.
Formal dealers like Simba and DT Dobie see the combination of the low prices and warranty (of up to three years or 100,000 kilometres) as winning buyers for their budget car line-ups.
The government has also pledged to prioritise purchase of vehicles assembled locally as part of incentives to attract more global automakers. The government last year also banned the imports of used trucks with load capacities of 3.5 tonnes and above.
Local assembly is seen as critical in creating jobs and skills transfer. Isuzu East Africa, AVA and Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers (KVM) are the major assemblers in the country.
They have mostly produced commercial vehicles –buses, trucks and pick-ups— over the decades as most passenger cars were shipped in fully-built as new or used models.
Source: Simba to assemble Sh1m Malaysian car in Kenya from Nov
Simba Corp sio kampuni la kigeni ni kampuni kutoka Kenya. Wameingia kwenye mkataba na Proton ya Malaysia ili wafanye production ya magari yao nchini Kenya. Simba Corp sasa hivi wanatengeneza magari(trucks, pickup na sedans pia) ya brands karibia kumi kwenye kiwanda chao cha AVA. Wanatengeneza Mahindra(single na Scorpio) magari ya Hino, Mitsubishi, Tata, Toyota, Foton, n.k, n.k. Dah, sikujua kiingereza huwa kinawatesa hivi, kiasi cha kutoelewa sentensi hata moja. 
Hio Simba Motors ya Tz ambayo umerukia kuiokota mitandaoni haihusiani kivyovyote na Simba Corp ya Kenya au mkataba wao na Proton ya Malay.
