South African firm, Associated Motor Holdings(AHM) has begun selling Nissan Brands in Kenya two months after DT Dobie surrendered distribution of the franchise.
The South African Subsidiary to Multinational Imperial Group announced yesterday it has officially started local operations singling out its main aim is to drive sales and grow the brands market share in the market.
“As the new Nissan custodians, offering exclusive representation of Nissan in Kenya, we have every confidence that Nissan Kenya has the capacity and capability to reposition Nissan in the country and enhance our customers’ experience of the brand,” said General Manager of Nissan Sub Sahara Africa, Jim Dando.
The subsidiary will take over sales of new and used vehicles on top of automotive distribution and parts and services.
The company has acquired a new showroom at the junction of Uhuru highway and Bunyala bringing competition closer to its rival, Toyota- Plans are also underway to expand the regional sales and service points nationwide.
Associated Motor Holdings intends to capture the Kenyan market by focusing on the various segments of the available market which include general transport, goods production , working class and leaders for the luxurious models which is currently dominated by Toyota.
Nissan Kenya was among the brands that detached themselves from its long time distributor DT Dobie after its competitor Toyota acquired over 90 percent stake from the French owned firm CFAO last year.
Nissan feared that under the new ownership the company would prioritize marketing other brands at the expense of its vehicles.
According to Kenya Motor Industry Association, Nissan brand has a market reputation where it is estimated that it moved 66.1 per cent of the 1,680 units it sold in 2012 which was the highest compared to other brands.
