Honda has announced that it is to build a small motorcycle assembly plant in Kenya. To be located in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, it will have a modest 25,000-unit annual capacity and employ about 60 staff. The facility should be in production by September of this year.
Honda’s East African debut will involve an initial investment of only £3.5m. This will be channelled through a new joint venture, Honda Motorcycle Kenya Ltd, 90 per cent of which will be owned by the Japanese parent.
The company already has a much larger factory in Nigeria, with a capacity of 150,000 units per year, which supplies markets in West Africa. It also has a distribution subsidiary in the Republic of South Africa.