Like other countries in Africa, Ghana is known as a country that imports a lot of cars. Cars are the 4th most imported products in Ghana, and in 2019 alone, cars worth $496 million were imported into the country. The main countries cars are imported from into Ghana according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), are United States ($164 million), United Arab Emirates ($76.3 million), Canada ($39.1 million), Japan ($36.9 million) and South Korea ($32.3 million). Also, countries like Turkey ($18.9 million), and Denmark ($13 million), were the fastest-growing import markets for cars in 2019.
To reduce the rate at which cars are imported into the country, several car assembly plants, have been established. Apart from ensuring Ghanaians do not necessarily have to purchase imported cars, these assembly plants were established to provide employment opportunities for thousands of people and reduce the prices of cars. So far, the establishment of these car assembly plants has yielded positive results; the figures of cars imported into Ghana have declined, more Ghanaians have been employed to work in these assembly plants, and cars assembled are sold at affordable prices. This has been achieved with the help of companies like Volkswagen and Mahindra.
Despite the impact of these companies in the manufacture of locally assembled cars for the Ghanaian people, there still is one major problem: all except one are foreign companies. The only indigenous company that assembles cars to be sold to the Ghanaian public is Kantanka Automobile Company Limited.
About Kantanka Automobile Company Limited
Kantanka Automobile Company Limited is a subsidiary of Kantanka Group of Companies, which is owned by popular Ghanaian pastor, Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka. He founded the company in 1994, and it was incorporated as a limited liability company in 2001 to manufacture automobile parts and combine these parts with those of other suppliers to form a complete unit. Kantanka Automobile Company Limited’s headquarters and car assembly plant is located at Gomoa- Mpota, in Ghana’s central region.
Unlike most imported cars, the cars manufactured by Kantanka Automobile Company Limited are built for the average Ghanaian. The cars imported from other countries cannot withstand the bad roads in so many parts of the country, and some cannot even withstand the weather conditions. To ensure they satisfy the needs of the Ghanaian market, every car assembled in Kantanka Motors’ assembly plant is subjected to an off-road driving test. These cars are driven on the worst of roads, and the local cars that are powered by petrol do not consume it as much as imported cars do.
In recent times, Kantanka Automobile Company Limited has ensured their products compete with international companies for control of the Ghanaian automobile market. They have manufactured state-of-the-art cars like the Kantanka Onantefo, Omama, and Otumfo. Also, there have been concerns about the rate of carbon emissions from cars that run on petrol, which has prompted a change in consumer patterns worldwide. There has been a need for more electric cars to be produced and Kantanka Automobile Company Limited has responded by producing the Kantanka Amoanimah, which it claims can travel from Accra to Kumasi without being recharged. With the production of electric cars, Kantanka Automobile Company Limited aims to even enter the European and North American markets, where there is an increasing demand for electric cars.
The Katanka Automobile Company Limited has been a blessing to the automobile industry in Ghana, employing thousands of people, contributing to Internally Generated Revenue (I.G.R), and ensuring consumer satisfaction with their products in the Ghanaian markets. Kantanka Automobile Company Limited is an example of a true African automobile company; with years of unmatched customer service and satisfaction in Ghana
