Ghana, South Africa to benefit from German auto industry cooperation

The German Ambassador to Ghana, Christoph Retzlaff, has announced that Ghana will be one of two African countries to benefit from a German automobile cooperation agreement.

He posted on Twitter on Saturday February 20, 2021; that the Association of German Car Makers, VDA, “is launching an initiative to strengthen cooperation with Africa. Ghana and South Africa will be first two pilot countries.”

Details of the deal according to GhanaWeb checks is contained in a December 2020 statement where the association issued a statement as part of a new initiative to deepen German automobile industry’s links with Africa.

“An in-house cluster for the association partnership at VDA’s headquarters in Berlin and two project offices in South Africa and Ghana are now responsible for project implementation and supporting direct local contacts for members and partners,” the statement read in part.

Ghana has in the last few years associated with German cars especially VW, which opened an assembly plant in August 2020. Universal Motors, the sole distributor of VW in November 2020 unveiled five new locally assembled models.

Headquartered in Berlin, the VDA represents carmakers including BMW, Volkswagen, and Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler but also counts foreign suppliers and foreign-owned carmakers like Opel among its members.

It is member of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).

Source: www.ghanaweb.com