France to set up auto plant in Namibia

Paris: French car giant PSA announced Monday it would start assembling Peugeot and Opel brands in Namibia in the second half of 2018. Under an investment agreement with the Namibian government, PSA -- whose brands also include Citroen, DS and Vauxhall -- will reach output capacity of 5,000 vehicles per year at the plant in the port town of Walvis Bay by 2020, it said in a statement.

The initial models will be two 4x4s, the Opel Grandland X and Peugeot 3008, but "other products will follow to meet customer demand," PSA said in a statement. The deal, in which Peugeot will form a joint enterprise with the state-owned Namibia Development Corporation, aims at the expanding market in the Southern African Customs Union, which comprises Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.