Toyota to start manufacturing Hilux and Hino in Kenya next year

Toyota Motor Corp. (7203)’s Kenyan unit said it expects to see its share of the East African country’s vehicle market rising to 27 percent next year from 26 percent this year.
The company will start manufacturing it Hilux and Hino models in Kenya in 2012, unit Managing Director Hylton Bannon told reporters in Nairobi today.
“By bringing production facilities to Kenya, we will lower our costs and it will enable us to be a lot more competitive,” Bannon said.
Toyota has put up a $2 million outlet in the Nairobi suburb of Westlands and plans to open another one in the Gigiri area of the city at the same cost next year, to improve customer service, he said. The unit’s vehicle sales this year are forecast at 11,500 to 12,000, Bannon said. Source: Bloomberg