Jeffery Peprah, CEO of Volkswagen Ghana, asserts that the six local vehicle assembling companies possess the production capacity to meet the nation’s vehicle demands.
During an appearance on the Citi Breakfast Show on Citi FM on Monday, May 6, Mr. Peprah disclosed that in 2023, a total of 120,000 vehicles entered the market, with only a scant 6,000 being brand new.
“In Ghana, the total vehicles imported is 120,000, and out of these, 6,000 were new vehicles in 2023 and so you see a huge gap between new vehicles and the used vehicle market. Out of the new 6,000, 4,700 were assembled locally and this is coming from six different automobile assembling companies.
“With regards to our capacity at the moment, our total capacity for all the six assemblies that we have in the country now, we have a capacity of 140,000 to 141,000 units that can be produced locally.”
Mr. Peprah further justified the pricing of locally assembled vehicles, asserting that the cost reflects their value.
He outlined numerous advantages for buyers of locally assembled vehicles compared to purchasing imported second-hand ones.
“Looking at the pricing perspective at the moment, our new vehicles locally assembled are very competitive and as well as the things that come with them, especially you have a vehicle locally made with a five-year warrant, which is a very potential thing for the market here. Buyers have a warrant for servicing for five years and that is a big plus for the buyers”
The six automobile assemblers enlisted in the Ghana Automotive Development Programme (GADP), comprising Volkswagen, Toyota, Rana Motors, Sinotruck, Japan Motors, and Kantanka, have urged the government to limit the importation of second-hand vehicles to bolster the local industry.
According to Mr. Peprah, implementing certain import restrictions would incentivize local companies to expand their production capabilities.
“If we are able to have a locally assembled product and with our capacities growing and once we have the numbers too growing, we will quickly move into more production phase where we will manufacture more products,” he told host Bernard Avle.