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"Holland Car, the first and only car assembly plant in the African country of Ethiopia, has just launched local production of the Chinese Lifan 520 under the name Abay.
The Abay is powered by a four-cylinder 1.3-liter engine hooked to a five-speed manual transmission. Standard equipment includes airbags, ABS and EBD. The car retails for the equivalent of $16,000 in Ethiopia.
Holland Car was set up in 2005 by Dutch automobile equipment producer Trento Engineering and a local trading company. The company's production facility is located in Modjo, about 40 miles from Addis Ababa. Its first product was the ancient Fiat 131, which is still being built by Fiat's Turkish partner, Tofas. The Tofas Sahin became the HC Docc in Ethiopia. With the Turkish company phasing out production, Holland Car had to find a new partner and hooked up with Lifan — a big motorcycle maker in China that has only been producing automobiles since 2005. Nevertheless, Lifan already has partners in Russia and Vietnam, distributes its 520 in Russia, South America and around Asia, and is in talks about assembly in Iran.
Despite the pioneering sound of the deal, another Chinese company — Great Wall — reached Africa ahead of Lifan, operating an assembly plant in Nigeria."
- Edmunds Inside Line -
The Abay is powered by a four-cylinder 1.3-liter engine hooked to a five-speed manual transmission. Standard equipment includes airbags, ABS and EBD. The car retails for the equivalent of $16,000 in Ethiopia.
Holland Car was set up in 2005 by Dutch automobile equipment producer Trento Engineering and a local trading company. The company's production facility is located in Modjo, about 40 miles from Addis Ababa. Its first product was the ancient Fiat 131, which is still being built by Fiat's Turkish partner, Tofas. The Tofas Sahin became the HC Docc in Ethiopia. With the Turkish company phasing out production, Holland Car had to find a new partner and hooked up with Lifan — a big motorcycle maker in China that has only been producing automobiles since 2005. Nevertheless, Lifan already has partners in Russia and Vietnam, distributes its 520 in Russia, South America and around Asia, and is in talks about assembly in Iran.
Despite the pioneering sound of the deal, another Chinese company — Great Wall — reached Africa ahead of Lifan, operating an assembly plant in Nigeria."
- Edmunds Inside Line -
