NYK has signed a joint-venture agreement with Bolloré Transport & Logistics Kenya Limited (Bolloré) and Toyota Tsusho Corporation to establish Bolloré NYK Auto Logistics Limited,(1) a logistics company for finished cars.

In late August, a signing ceremony was held in Kenya, and attended by Eric Melet, Managing Director of Bolloré, Takashi Hattori, Senior Managing Director of Toyota Tsusho Corp., Koichi Chikaraishi, senior managing corporate officer of NYK at which time they attended the ceremony to commemorate MOUs in TICAD VI(2).

Kenya, a country currently experiencing strong economic growth, is expected to see a rise in finished car imports and become a gate port for countries in East Africa. At the port of Mombasa, Kenya, this new company will offer a variety of services, such as inland transport, and PDI(3) as well as car storage and customs clearance within this year.

Making use of a strategic partnership combining the knowledge and the expertise that Bolloré and Toyota Tsusho have accumulated through their business activities, together with NYK’s extensive experience with finished-car logistics solutions around the world, Bolloré NYK Auto Logistics Limited will be well positioned to provide widespread customers with high quality services for East Africa.

(1) Bolloré Transport & Logistics Kenya Limited: A subsidiary company of Bolloré Transport & Logistics, headquartered in France and offering comprehensive logistics services.

(2) The ceremony of MOUs in TICAD VI is the ceremony to commemorate memorandums of understanding (MOUs) signed between Japanese companies and African countries on the occasion of the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI). TICAD VI was held by Japanese government in the Republic of Kenya on August 27 and 28. In this ceremony, Bolloré NYK Auto Logistics Limited was introduced as an investment project of Africa by Japanese and French companies. The ceremony included Prime Minister Abe, H.E. Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya and other dignitaries.

(3) PDI (pre-delivery inspection)
Services for finished vehicles – such as final inspections, repairs, and parts application – before delivery to a car dealer.

Source: NYK