Lifan Motors Has a Long Road Vision in Ethiopia

By Ayenew Haileselassie

The company is facing fierce competition from used cars, with brands like Toyota remaining popular.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Lifan has recently moved into a new plant at the Eastern Industry Zone in Dukem, 37kms outside the capital, Addis Abeba. The company says, however, that it is in business in Ethiopia more as a long-term investment as opposed to an immediate profit, which at present, it is making only from the after-sale service it offers to customers.

Ethiopia, or Abyssinia – as a translation from the Chinese of one of the presentations at its convention last week put it – is, actually a very small market for Lifan. The third Global Distributor Convention of Lifan Motors, organised every three years, took place at the Jiuzhai Paradise Intercontinental Hotel in Juizhai, China, on June 4, 2014. Attending were distributors, dealers and journalists from over 30 countries, as well as ambassadors, including Girma Temesgen, Ethiopia’s Consul General in Chongqing, China, where Lifan Motors is also based.

“When talking about the positive roles played by Chinese partners, it would be unfair not to mention the contribution of Yangfan Motors,” said Girma. “It was the first Chinese private automotive assembling, marketing and after-sale service company in Ethiopia.”

Read more at: Addis Fortune