Barely a month after German auto giants DW announced its entry into Ethiopia, Korean auto giant has opened a brand new auto assembly plant in the country as well.
The plant is a joint venture between the South Korean carmaker and decorated Ethiopian athlete Haile Gebreselassie who owns Marathon Motors brand.
Hyundai Motor Company CEO, Mr. Won Hee Lee, was in town for the inaugural ceremony as was Gebreselassie and high ranking government officials including Foreign Affairs minister, Workneh Ghebeyehu.
The cost of the Hyundai Marathon motor vehicle assembly plant is estimated at half a billion birr. It will employ an estimated 200 people from the start, a figure that could go as high as 1,000 when it goes fully operational. It becomes one of few assembly plants in the region and has the capacity to assemble 5,000 cars annually.
This becomes the second major business area of Haileselassie who also operates a hospitality business under the Haile Resort brand. The former Olympic and World Champion in athletics aside business has also served as president of the Ethiopian Athletics Federation, a post he relinquished in November 2018.
