Skip to main content

Volkswagen launches mobility solution in Rwanda

Volkswagen has launched its mobility solution in Rwanda in a bid to expand its reach in Africa's automotive industry. The package includes a car-sharing service, ride hailing service and a local vehicle assembly plant. The car-sharing service will mainly be aimed at companies in the capital Kigali, while the ride hailing service will follow later this year. Meanwhile, the assembly plant will be used to develop the latest Polo and Passat vehicles. Volkswagen says it intends to build up to 1,000 vehicl
July 17, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
994 Volkswagen has launched its mobility solution in Rwanda in a bid to expand its reach in Africa's automotive industry. The package includes a car-sharing service, ride hailing service and a local vehicle assembly plant.


The car-sharing service will mainly be aimed at companies in the capital Kigali, while the ride hailing service will follow later this year.

Meanwhile, the assembly plant will be used to develop the latest Polo and Passat vehicles. Volkswagen says it intends to build up to 1,000 vehicles per year depending on demand and the success of the mobility fleet, with an annual production capacity of up to 5,000 units. The German automotive manufacturer is expected to spend $20m.

Thomas Schäfer, CEO of Volkswagen South Africa, says the package is tailored to the region: “We intend to harness the opportunities for growth and create new opportunities.”

Volkswagen is already active in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Algeria.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Making ITS connections requires leadership
    January 23, 2020
    From making the commute more bearable to saving the planet, Jim Alfred of BlackBerry Certicom believes that ITS has the capacity to drive a range of transformational opportunities – but leadership is required, he warns
  • Connected management mega-trend drives the global wireless M2M market
    August 21, 2014
    According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of global mobile network connections used for wireless machine-to-machine (M2M) communication will increase by 21 per cent in 2014 to reach 213.9 million at the year-end. East Asia, Western Europe and North America are the main regional markets, accounting for around 75 per cent of the installed base. In the next five years, the global number of wireless M2M connections is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate
  • Mondato report says African transactions to grow
    November 3, 2014
    Person-to-business (P2B) mobile-initiated transactions across the five leading sub- Saharan African countries will grow nearly tenfold over the next five years, from $2.9 billion in 2013 to $28 billion.
  • Outlook good for transportation technology funding
    January 25, 2012
    Chris Cheever and Chris Thomas of Fontinalis Partners discuss the funding outlook for the ITS industry – where the money’s going to come from, and what needs to happen to facilitate change