A public auction notice has invited bids for Foton’s 10-acre land on Old Mombasa Road where it had built a warehouse for limited vehicle assembly ahead of plans to develop a fully-fledged 10,000 units-a-year facility. The plant features a body building area, painting section, a completely knocked down (parts) area and a vehicle assembly line with cranes. The company had estimated the entire assembly plant to cost Sh1.2 billion at the time. While Foton awaited its assembly plant to be ready, it contracted Thika-based Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers (KVM) to assemble its brands. Foton’s collapse comes at a time when local assembly has been reinvigorated by new incentives offered by the government to boost the industry, including guaranteed orders from the State.

Source: Daily Nation June 13, 2017 06:33 UTC