Kantanka – Ghanaian auto maker gets huge confidence boost, VP purchases 3 vehicles for official use

Mahama administration boosts local automaker with initial purchase of vehicles.

Ghanaian carmaker, Kantanka Automobile Company’s determination to produce commercial quantities of cars received a huge boost from the Mahama administration earlier this month, after the country’s vice president purchased 3 of the company’s vehicles to add to the vice president’s office fleet.

Vice president Kwesi Amissah-Arthur took delivery of 2 Kantanka Onantefuo 4X4 vehicles after touring the company’s plant site in Gomoa Mpota – a community in the central region – and said he will take the remaining one at a later date.

“They compete favorably with the imported ones, they are also cheaper and there is local availability of parts and expertise to fix them if there are any problems,” he said. “It is consistent with this administration to support domestic enterprises, so it was on that basis that we decided to acquire a few of them for use at the vice president’s office.”

At present, the Kantanka Assembly plant, is churning out between 80 and 200 vehicles per month.
The numbers are expected to grow in response to global market trends and demand.

Following years of rigorous research and tests to produce locally made cars, the company said, it was now determined to join the global automobile market with strong, robust, durable and reliable cars. But many believe winning local consumers taste for made-in-Ghana products, including cars, remained a huge hurdle that the company will have to clear.

Kantanka Automobile Limited Chief Executive Officer, Kwadwo Sarfo Jnr., told local media that the vice president’s gesture showed confidence in the car manufacturer and “speaks volumes for the work we do and what a good job we do at making these vehicles strong for use”. “So far, I can tell you he (Amissah-Arthur) is impressed with the vehicles and so we will continue to do what we do to make everyone proud,” he said.

The vice president’s move is seen as an endorsement of the automobile company and will boost it, while giving meaning to the country’s campaign for patronizing local products in order to boost jobs and control rising import bills. It was also described as laudable and refreshing, as symbolized the government’s commitment to actualize its made-in-Ghana campaign.

Amissah-Arthur had posted on his facebook wall in May 2016 saying “when I met car manufacturer Kwadwo Safo today, I told him that I am expecting to take delivery of 3 of his vehicles that I have placed an order for”.
The company presented a brand new locally-manufactured vehicle to the local police service in March 2015.

The Kantanka brand is seen as a first step for Ghana and Africa to participate in the global automotive industry, as manufacturers rather than consumer and after-sales-service providers.

The company’s founder, Kwadwo Sarfo, manufactured the first Kantanka sedan in 1998 and a cross-country 4×4 – the Kantanka Onantefo I – in 2006, and has since manufactured a series of brands, including a four-seat jet.

According to the World Bank, private consumption in sub-Saharan Africa is to remain strong in 2015 to 2017, particularly with Africa’s burgeoning middle class looking to splurge on new passenger vehicles. Last year, Africa was projected to see sales of 2 million new cars, with major auto players looking at the continent for growth opportunities. About 21.6 million passenger vehicles are projected to be operating in Africa – making the continent’s nearly 1.2 billion population, an attractive prospect for global automobile manufacturers to penetrate.

Source: The Africa Report