- Cooper Motor Corporation
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CMC Motors Group Ltd. Type Limited Industry Automotive industry Founded 1912 Founder(s) Clement Hirtzel Headquarters Nairobi, Kenya Area served East Africa:
COM, DJI, EAK, EAT, EAU, ER, ETH, MOÇ, MS, MW, RE, RM, RU, RWA, SO1/2, SY, YT, Z, ZWProducts Automobiles, Buses, Pickups, Tractors and commercial vehicles Website www.cmcmotors.com The Cooper Motor Corporation, also known as CMC Motors Group Ltd., is the largest importer of vehicles and largest car-assembly company of Kenya. It was founded in 1912 by Mr. Clement Hirtzel under the company name Nairobi Motor Garage. The firm was founded in the Nairobi of the former protectorate British East Africa. Over the decades, the company has finally developed into a major importer for several different brands.
Company history
The company started its activities with the import of the Ford Model T. The Nairobi Motor Garage was the first company that distributed vehicles in British East Africa, today Kenya. They have sold a variety of pickup truck and van models from the Ford Motor Company. The initial Ford Model T allowed the Nairobi motor garage to claim 52 percent of the market share for itself. In July 1948, the company was bought by Mr. Allen and Mr. Copper, who had moved from the United Kingdom to Nairobi. Under the new ownership, the company's name was changed to Cooper Motor Corporation Pvt. Ltd.. New products were introduced including the Land Rover, which was a success in a lot of African markets. Over the years, the company introduced other brands like Volkswagen, Mazda, Škoda, Maruti, Suzuki, Iveco, Nissan Diesel, Bobcat, Liebherr, Case CE, Case IH, New Holland into the market.
CMC's CKD assembling of cars began in 1974 with the new Volkswagen Golf. It was followed by the Volkswagen Santana and by the models Volkswagen Jetta and Volkswagen Transporter in the mid-nineties.
For the Mazda brand, the 323, 626 and Rustler were assembled in Kenya. Currently the CMC is only assembling the truck model T3500 and the BT-50 for Mazda.
CMC next introduced the Maruti brand to the Kenyan market with the small car Maruti 800 and the SUV Maruti Gypsy King. The Maruti range was completed with the Maruti Omni some years later. The latest product is the Maruti Suzuki Swift which is only imported and not official distributed through CMC.
In the 1990s the CMC introduced the Suzuki brand to the East African market with the Suzuki Vitara and the Suzuki Alto. Later the Vitara was replaced by the Suzuki Grand Vitara and the model range was completed with the Suzuki Jimny and Suzuki SX4.
The most recently introduced brand was in 2004 with Škoda ahd their small car Škoda Fabia, followed by the sedan version, which is assembled as the Škoda Octavia for the East African market.
For the Ford partnership, the CMC had assembled the Ford Escort, the Ford Telstar and the Ford Laser. Currently assembled models are the Ford F-250 (2004 version), the Ford Ranger THA (2004 version), Ford Focus C307 and the Ford Territory (SX model).
Other assembled vehicles
- Iveco AT720 Prime Mover
- Iveco Euro-Trakker
- Iveco MP380
- Nissan Diesel CB31 Bus (62 seats)
- Nissan Diesel CB46 Bus (67 seats)
- Nissan Diesel CWB450 Truck
- Nissan Diesel MKB210 Bus (62 seats)
- Nissan Diesel MKB210 Truck
- Nissan Diesel NU41 Bus (29 seats, also known as Swara)
- Nissan Diesel NU41 Truck (also known as Swara)
- Nissan Diesel PKF210 Truck
External links
- This article incorporates information from this version of the equivalent article on the German Wikipedia.
Categories:- Car manufacturers
- Bus manufacturers
- Motor vehicle manufacturers of Kenya
- Truck manufacturers
- Companies of Kenya
- Companies of Uganda
- Companies of Tanzania
- Companies established in 1912
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