Isuzu East Africa moves to fill the void left by CMC

Isuzu East Africa has acquired exclusive rights to assemble and distribute UD trucks following the refocus of CMC Motor Group in Kenya.

CMC Motors exited from the sale of UD trucks in 2023 to focus on agricultural mechanisation.

Isuzu East Africa Managing Director Rita Kavashe confirmed that the company is now responsible for assembly, sales, and aftersales support of UD Trucks in Kenya. Kavashe spoke in Mombasa during the launch of a new long-haul heavy-duty commercial truck and a service facility for trucks along the Northern corridor.

She said some UD trucks are already taking jet fuel from Eldoret to Chad.

“We are grateful to UD Trucks Corporation and Isuzu Motors Japan for entrusting us with this special responsibility in the region. Our customers have supported Isuzu EA strongly over the years, and this is the reason Isuzu Motors chose us to assemble and distribute UD Trucks in Kenya,” said Kavashe.

She said the reentry of UD trucks is driven by Kenya being a logistic hub for the region and customers are looking for durable products, value for money, and partners who will support their business in the long term.

The MD said that the collaboration with UD trucks will aid in technology transfer and promote job creation in support of the Buy Kenya, Build Kenya vision.

“There is opportunity in the market to scale not only in Kenya but also in the region by leveraging on the strategic location of our ports, road infrastructure, and trading blocks,” said Kavashe.

She said Isuzu acquiring the distributorship for UD trucks further strengthens manufacturing in Kenya and creates employment opportunities.

“We know other players import vehicles directly and some coming in as second hand but we are assembling these products locally, therefore creating job opportunities and deepening manufacturing in Kenya,” she said.

Kavashe said the assembly regulation review by the government has seen a complete shift that has encouraged and allowed new players to come into the assembly trade through partnerships.

“Two years ago we went through a comprehensive review of the taxation regime that allows new players to come in because the cost of setting up a manufacturing full scale at the onset can be very difficult,” she said.

UD Trucks President Mourad Hedna said that Kenya is a major logistics and transport hub in Africa driving demand for heavy-duty trucks.

“In a country like Kenya, logistics is the lifeblood of the society and logistics will continue to grow. When you see the population size and the youth and emergence of the middle class, there will be more goods to transport and there is a need for infrastructure development,” said Hedna.

He said the local assembly of UD trucks will create numerous job opportunities both directly and indirectly, adding that the trucks are installed with telematics which can be able to follow online to see how your truck is being driven.

“We are back to Kenya which is a strategic place for UD trucks. Our trucks were attributed to durability and reliability. In the last 10 years, we renewed from 21 tons to 100 tons which is built for the tough African countries. We designed options for the customers,’ said Hedna.

Chairman of UD Trucks Corporation Koichi Ito said the company has set up two dedicated UD Trucks service centres in Nairobi and Mombasa to serve as training and best practice centres to support customer requirements in the region.

“Our plan and duty with UD trucks is to be key players in supporting the prosperity of the country,” said Ito.