A group of 18 vehicle components manufacturers from automotive manufacturing countries are in the country for a-week long exploration of Ghana’s automotive eco-system to establish plants in the country.

The group, which is the fifth of its kind to come to Ghana, was brought in by the Volkswagen and are from Germany, Mexico, South Africa and India among others, seeking opportunities to establish plants in Ghana.

The Group Communications Director of Volkswagen, Andile Dlamini, announced this when a delegation from Volkswagen paid a courtesy call on President Nana Akufo Addo at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday.

Led by the Chairperson and Managing Director of Volkswagen Group South Africa, Martina Biene, members of the group were in the country for the launch of the $8 million assembly plant at Tema last Thursday.

With an installed capacity of 5,000 units per annum, the new facility will assemble the T-Cross, Tiguan, Amarok and Virtus models of the VW range of vehicles, creating 80 jobs, including local third-party service suppliers.

By the new facility, the country becomes the fourth assembling location for VW vehicles in sub-Saharan Africa, joining the league of South Africa, which is host to the company’s largest assembly plant, with Kenya and Rwanda.

Investors

Dilating on the interest of components manufacturers, Mr Dlamini said the investors had been meeting with assemblers, dealers, government entities and infrastructure managers just to understand what the ecosystem offered.

He added that they were interested in investing in Ghana, adding that “we fully support the policy that will be implemented. We believe in Ghana; we believe it as the hub of Africa”.

Showcase

For her part, Ms Martina Biene said the opening of the facility last Thursday in Tema was to showcase the next step of their commitment to the journey that started in 2018, noting that the plant also marked the automotive journey in Africa.

Policy

She described the automotive policy in Ghana as “probably the most advanced and the most well-thought- through which could also make Ghana, the West African hub of the automotive industry”.

She gave an assurance that the company would stay and complete the successful journey with Ghana and make the next brave steps of growing the automotive industry.

President Akufo-Addo said the Automotive Policy was meant to offer clarity to anybody who was interested in any aspect of the industry in Ghana and expressed delight that the policy continued to have an impact.

He indicated that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was a game changer and that was the reason why Ghana ensured that the secretariat was brought to Accra to make the country the commercial hub of Africa.

“We want industrialists to take advantage of the AfCFTA and use Ghana as the gateway”, he said, and indicated Ghana was interested in integration, where the components would be manufactured in Ghana as well as upgrading the skills of the workforce using the country’s resources.