{"id":2000113712,"date":"2026-05-29T14:45:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T12:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000113712"},"modified":"2026-05-31T12:53:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T10:53:30","slug":"rwanda-could-host-dongfeng-vehicle-assembly-plant-by-2030","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/rwanda-could-host-dongfeng-vehicle-assembly-plant-by-2030\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda could host Dongfeng vehicle assembly plant by 2030"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Longtai Group began operations in Rwanda in June 2025 and focuses mainly on electric and hybrid vehicles powered by both electricity and fuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to IGIHE, the company\u2019s Head of Sales, Fran\u00e7ois Regis Irareba, said the decision follows positive market reception for the company\u2019s vehicles in Rwanda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained that the planned facility would assemble Dongfeng vehicles locally for both the Rwandan market and exports across the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want to build a vehicle assembly plant here in Rwanda. Naturally, it will create jobs for Rwandans and also contribute to reducing the amount of money the country spends importing vehicles. Once completed, vehicles will be assembled locally and distributed across the region. We expect the factory to start operations by 2030,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Longtai Group Rwanda is also planning to establish what it describes as the country\u2019s largest electric vehicle charging station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Irareba, the charging hub will be located in Kigali and will have the capacity to charge between 50 and 80 vehicles simultaneously, with each vehicle taking around 30 minutes to fully recharge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that existing charging stations in the country currently accommodate between two and six vehicles at a time, adding that the new facility is expected to be operational before the end of 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Longtai Group operates in China, Rwanda, Tanzania and Angola, specialising in electric vehicles. Outside China, Rwanda has emerged as one of the company\u2019s strongest markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Rwanda, one of the most popular models is the Dongfeng Nammi Vigo, also known as the Nammi 06. The company says that about 246 units have been sold in the past four months alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vehicles are supplied with home charging equipment, allowing users to recharge without relying entirely on public charging stations. Their batteries are said to last between 15 and 20 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depending on the model, a fully charged vehicle can travel between 330 kilometres and 1,000 kilometres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the company, a round trip between Kigali and Rubavu using one of its electric vehicles costs around Rwf18,000 in electricity, compared to approximately Rwf90,000 currently required for fuel-powered vehicles, up from about Rwf60,000 before the rise in fuel prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dongfeng Motor was founded in 1969 in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, and is currently among the five largest automobile manufacturers in China. The company produces vehicles under several brands including Venucia, Fengdu, Aeolus, Forthing, Voyah and Dongfeng.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through partnerships with other manufacturers, Dongfeng also produces vehicles for brands such as Honda, Nissan and KIA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this May, Dongfeng Motor entered into a partnership with the Dutch-based automotive giant Stellantis, one of Europe\u2019s major vehicle manufacturers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stellantis owns brands including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citro\u00ebn, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram and Vauxhall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The partnership aims to establish a joint company responsible for the production, distribution and sale of new Dongfeng vehicles in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the agreement, Stellantis will hold a 51% stake in the venture, while Dongfeng will own the remaining 49%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
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Fran\u00e7ois Regis Irareba, the Head of Sales at Longtai Group Rwanda, said that a Dongfeng vehicle assembly plant will be built in Rwanda before 2030.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Rwanda could host Dongfeng vehicle assembly plant by 2030. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The management of Longtai Group Rwanda, a company that distributes Chinese-made vehicles, has announced plans to establish a Dongfeng vehicle assembly plant in Kigali before 2030.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2000113713,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[151,72],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000113712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-editors-choice","tag-featured-news-home","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000113713,"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/xmzln4bysjpzlfjl5dkjexynfa-4a0bc.jpg","alt":"","caption":"Rwanda could host Dongfeng vehicle assembly plant by 2030. ","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1000,"height":666,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/xmzln4bysjpzlfjl5dkjexynfa-4a0bc.jpg","width":150,"height":100},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/xmzln4bysjpzlfjl5dkjexynfa-4a0bc.jpg","width":300,"height":200},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/xmzln4bysjpzlfjl5dkjexynfa-4a0bc.jpg","width":768,"height":511},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/xmzln4bysjpzlfjl5dkjexynfa-4a0bc.jpg","width":1000,"height":666},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/xmzln4bysjpzlfjl5dkjexynfa-4a0bc.jpg","width":1000,"height":666}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000113712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000113712"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000113712\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000113715,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000113712\/revisions\/2000113715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000113713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000113712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000113712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000113712"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000113712"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000113712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}