adminNAIROBI. – Kenyan automotive firm, Associated Vehicle Assemblers (AVA), said on Tuesday that it will assemble 130 electric buses manufactured by Chinese automotive firm BYD this year.
Matt Lloyd, managing director of AVA, told Xinhua in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi that so far it has assembled 15 BYD electric buses for the local market that were imported as a collection of parts.
“The advantage of BYD is that it is one of the world’s leaders in the manufacture of electric vehicles and the level of quality of the vehicles is very high,” Lloyd said on the sidelines of an electric vehicle forum.
Lloyd observed that locally assembled BYD buses have high safety standards and will therefore enhance Kenya’s overall road safety. He revealed that his firm has gained modern automotive technology through the technical advice it has received from BYD.
In Egypt, a new bus assembly plant co-built by Chinese and Saudi firms has started production in New Suez City, with the first batch of transport buses expected to roll off the assembly line soon.
Speaking at a belated inauguration ceremony held in the city on Tuesday, Hamed Al Mutabagani, chairman of Saudi company ATM Misr, said the factory was designed with an annual production capacity of 500 buses.
The plant covers an area of 164 000 square meters and is equipped with advanced production lines, warehouses, and quality-control facilities, added Al Mutabagani, whose company co-built the factory with Chinese bus maker King Long.
ATM Misr invested 1 billion Egyptian pounds (about US$3.3 million) in building the plant, while King Long provided technology and complete vehicle equipment.
The plant would supply Saudi-based bus dealer National Trade Company with 51 finished buses, 26 of which would use King Long car parts, according to a cooperation agreement.
About 60 percent of production used locally-produced components, in a bid to help localise the auto industry in Egypt, he said, adding Gulf countries serve as targetted markets.
It is hoped that the plant would make use of its location near three key ports to reach the African and European markets, he noted. – Xinhua
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