More than 100 exhibitors from local and international firms are set to feature in this year’s regional auto parts exhibition.
The event dubbed, Autoparts East Africa, and which is expected to attract 2,000 buyers and investors, will begin Wednesday at the Sarit Convention Centre in Westlands, Nairobi.
The event will feature car manufacturers and automotive service providers. Some of the companies that will showcase their brands include Isuzu East Africa, Robert Bosch and Subaru.
According to Frederick Buoga from Trade and Fairs East Africa Ltd, the event organiser, the exhibition will provide automotive suppliers platforms to grow their business footprint in the region.
“The exhibition is the perfect marketplace for exhibitors to showcase innovative products and services to an audience of industry professionals and generate promising business leads. We also want to enlighten customers on where they can get quality, affordable car parts,” Mr Buoga said, adding that recent trends in the industry reveal that car buyers are becoming increasingly motor savvy.
“They (car buyers) are looking for innovations in car design and user experience that meet their lifestyles and business needs,” he added.
Automotive sector experts will also attend the event that it will feature seven major categories — autoparts/components, electronic systems, aauto accessories and garage systems.
“Others are auto dealer and workshop, car care and filling stations, as well as service, IT and publishing,” he noted.
The exhibition is also set to attract financial institutions, transport operators and government agencies.
Data from Kenya Motor Industry shows that the country had 1.5 million vehicles on its roads in 2015 and the figure was projected to grow to five million by 2030.
The data further showed that motor vehicle sales in Kenya grew 18 percent in 2018 with 14,265 new cars sold in the local market excluding imports.
However, Kenya and other countries in the region continue to be dependent on car imports.
For instance, about 80 percent of Kenya’s vehicle fleet comprises second hand imported cars.
“Local automotive suppliers should explore partnerships with international carmakers to manufacture some of the automotive components locally thus lowering costs and creating jobs,” Mr Buoga stated.
Autoparts East Africa is the biggest expo and conference for automotive suppliers in the region.
SOURCE: businessdailyafrica.com
