FLASHBACK: Government to partner financial institutions to make 'Made in Ghana' vehicles affordable

Last year President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo assured Ghanaians that his government would work to ensure that Made in Ghana cars are affordable.

He made the statement at the commissioning of the Toyota Tsuhuo Manufacturing Plant in Tema.

"I am happy to hereby officially launch the first Toyota-Suzuki vehicles that have been assembled

Read full articlein our country. It is a good day for mother Ghana, a day that represents the deepening of the already strong bilateral relationship that exists between Ghana and Japan.

Government attaches great commitment to the automobile industry in Ghana. Toyota Tsuhuo's presence in Ghana has been facilitated by the government's bold move to develop the Ghana Automotive policy under the auspices of the Ministry of Trade and Industry," he said.

Read the full story originally published on June 29, 2021 by GhanaWeb

• The president said measures will be implemented to make Made in Ghana vehicles affordable for public sector workers

• Over 7 million dollars was invested in the establishment of the manufacturing plant.

• He also said measures are in place to export made in Ghana cars to other African countries

The president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that his government will partner with key financial institutions to ensure that made-in Ghana vehicles are affordable for civil servants to buy.

His statement comes in line with the government's commitment to ensure that the Ghana Industrialization and Transformational Agenda initiative is achieved. He said government is committed to investing in Automobile operations in the country.

Speaking at the commissioning of the Toyota Tsuhuo Manufacturing Plant in Tema, the president said more jobs are being created under Ghana-Japan bilateral agreements.

"I am happy to hereby officially launch the first Toyota-Suzuki vehicles that has been assembled in our country. It is a good day for mother Ghana, a day that represent the deepening of the already strong bilateral relationship that exists between Ghana and Japan. Government attaches great commitment to the automobile industry in Ghana. Toyota Tsuhuo's presence in Ghana has been facilitated by government's bold move to develop the Ghana Automotive policy under the auspices of the Ministry of Trade and Industry," he said.

He also said measures are in place to export made in Ghana cars to other African countries in the coming years to rope in more revenue to develop the country.

"New and highly skilled jobs are being created, the use of foreign exchange to import second used vehicles will be reduced and at the same time the export of made in Ghana cars to other African markets will end our nation much needed foreign exchange," he added.

Meanwhile, Toyota Tsuhuo Corporation finalized preparations with Ghana in 2019 to set up an assembly plant by August 2021.

According to the company, the decision to set up in Ghana has been necessitated by the favourable economic climate prevailing in the country.

The decision to assemble Suzuki vehicles in Ghana, follows the acquisition on Wednesday, 28th August 2019, of a 4.9% stake in Suzuki by Toyota Tsusho, thus making Toyota a "principal shareholder" in Suzuki.

Toyota Tsusho Manufacturing Ghana Co. Limited (TTMG) has become the first Japanese company to start vehicle assembly in the Republic of Ghana.

The company started operations by assembling a Toyota Motor Corporation's ("Toyota") Hilux pickup truck, on Tuesday, June 29, 2021.

TTMG is the fifth vehicle production base of the Toyota Tsusho Group in Africa, after Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria, and Rwanda, and is located in the Ghanaian city of Tema (30 km from the capital Accra). It is the Toyota Tsusho Group's first vehicle assembly plant in West Africa, with an annual production capacity of 1,300 units based on an investment of approximately 7 million U.S. dollars.


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