ADDIS ABABA, Feb 21 (Reuters) - South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co opened a 10,000-a-year vehicle capacity assembly plant in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Thursday, its first factory in East Africa. While second-hand vehicles dominate sales in the Horn of Africa country, Hyundai hopes locally-assembled cars could prove attractive given the cost of imports due to high taxes. Vehicles that will roll off the assembly line at the plant just outside of the capital include passenger hatchback cars and trucks, Haile Gebrselassie, the former Olympian-turned businessman who has partnered with the South Korean firm. “This plant is big enough (to assemble) for Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea and Sudan,” he said. Assemblers in the country include Chinese brands Geely, FAW and BYD, as well as Lifan.

Source: Ethiopian News February 21, 2019 15:33 UTC