Isuzu East Africa has acquired distribution rights of locally assembled UD Trucks in a deal worth Ksh 80 million.
Speaking during the signing of the agreement, Isuzu East Africa Managing Director Rita Kavashe said assembly of the commercial vehicle will done at the Kenya Vehicle Manufacturing (KVM) plant in Thika.
“This will go an extra mile in supporting the economy through job creation that comes with technology and skills transfer for the youth while providing local content support opportunities for local supplies,” said Kaveshe .
UD Trucks Middle East, East and North Africa Region President Mourad Hedna said Isuzu EA is gearing to assemble the heavy-duty Quester and medium duty Croner for sale in Kenya from June this year.
“We welcome the partnership with Isuzu EA in Kenya to provide to our customers a comprehensive support for optimum uptime including expert technical assistance, and reliable supply of genuine parts.”
He further added that the trucks have been specifically engineered to traverse the Kenyan roads, and have automotive transmissions and engines optimized for fuel efficiency considering the high prices of fuel in the country.
According to Isuzu, official sales are expected to begin in the second half of 2024 therefore, this partnership will also increase their market share of vehicles sold in the country from 60pc as of December 2023 despite the challenging market environment.
