The government of Ghana has said it will soon launch an asset-based vehicle financing scheme to stimulate demand for domestically assembled vehicles.
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced this on Tuesday, May 2, 2023 at Amasaman, where he commissioned a local assembly plant for the production of Kia vehicles for Ghana and West Africa markets, owned by Rana Motors.
In his address, President Akufo-Addo explained that the scheme was borne out of the fact that the state alone could not purchase the number of vehicles to be assembled.
It will be recalled that the presidency issued a directive to state institutions to prioritise the procurement of locally assembled vehicles.
“We are, however, mindful of the fact that the state alone cannot purchase the sufficient numbers of vehicles to be produced from our assembly plants and will thus require Ghanaians to also patronize these vehicles,” the President stated.
He continued that, “To stimulate demand for domestically assembled vehicles, we will soon be rolling out an asset-based vehicle financing scheme as in existing developed economies to afford Ghanaians the opportunity to purchase vehicles from the Ghana Automotive Development Program.
“We have also shown commitment by implementing the zero-rating of VAT on the sale of domestically assembled vehicles. This means that there is no VAT on the sale of domestically assembled vehicles, even to the end user, to make domestically assembled vehicles affordable,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo told the gathering that he had charged the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to submit to Parliament the required legislative instruction proposing the implementation start date of the Customs Amendment Act (2020).
The president assured companies under the program that the government would continue to engage in discussions that would lead to the expansion of their markets at the regional and continental levels.
The aim, he stated, is to reach the long-term effect of producing some kits domestically to feed the value chain.
KIA
KIA is the fourth-largest global vehicle manufacturer. The company joins other global car brands, including Toyota-Suzuki, Nissan, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Sinotruck, and Ghana’s indigenous brand Kantanka, who have already established assembly plants in the country.
