Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. plans to start assembling vehicles in Kenya, bolstering government plans to develop a regional auto-manufacturing hub in East Africa's biggest economy.
The automaker is the latest to target Kenya after Volkswagen AG, PSA Peugeot and CNH Industrial NV announced plans for assembly lines over the past 18 months. The facilities could cut new-vehicle costs for customers in some of the continent's fastest-growing economies, where vehicle ownership per thousand people is about a quarter of the global average.
Outside of South Africa there isn't much automotive manufacturing on the continent, because of challenges such as the volume of imported used cars, few vehicle-financing options and a patchy road network.