Daring Africa 2024, Nissan’s overland adventure across eight countries with four Nissan Navara pick-ups and an X-Trail SUV, is preparing for the eighth and final leg of the odyssey, joining Nissan’s LCV manufacturing hub in South Africa and the company’s PV assembly plant in Egypt.
To date, Daring Africa has covered 7 000kms across seven countries giving more than 80 local journalists immersive real-life real-time experiences of the all new built of more Nissan Navara, while sharing the story of the journey with 3 500 media across the rest of the continent.
The journey has been a resounding success to date, says Nissan South Africa and Independent Markets Africa Managing Director Maciej Klenkiewicz. He saw the convoy off from the Rosslyn factory, the African home of the all new built of more Nissan Navara, and he travelled to Nairobi to welcome the convoy when it made its penultimate stop last month before preparing for the last leg. “When you think about it, these vehicles have travelled 7 000 kms without a single mechanical issue – not even a flat tyre – travelling over some of the toughest road conditions imaginable. It is an incredible achievement,” he says.
Nissan Africa President, Jordi Vila is just as impressed.
“It has been an amazing journey so far. We set out to celebrate our African footprint and our 60-year-old LCV legacy on the continent through this incredible vehicle which of course was designed for Africa and is built in Africa by Africans, and I have no doubt that we have proved our point.” he noted.
Daring Africa began by heading due east out of Pretoria to Nelspruit in South Africa’s easternmost province, Mpumalanga, and from there into Mozambique to the capital Maputo. After the standard shop at the Nissan Mozambique showroom, the odyssey headed north up the coast, recording some unforgettable images in the process as the Navara showed its prowess on miles of beach sand.
From Mozambique, it was off to Zimbabwe via the Eastern Highlands and Africa’s second highest waterfall, Mutarazi. Daring Africa stopped in Harare to show off the Navara to key customers, before turning north over the Kariba Dam and into Zambia.
Traversing the Luangwa Valley, the crew headed for Lake Malawi and then into Tanzania, around the majestic Mount Kilimanjaro and then up past Kenya’s Amboseli National Park into the capital Nairobi.
“This has been an epic experience so far for everyone involved,” says Nissan Africa Head of Communications Ramy Mohareb, “it really has been Daring in every possible way. The roads have been challenging but the sights and the experiences that we have all gained have been invaluable. We have been able to renew old relationships and forge new ones as we shared our vision for Africa on the road and in fireside chats with media members and influencers at night”.
He is particularly happy with the outreach element, which has allowed the team to give local media immersive experiences in the Navara that they had never experienced before, as well as showcasing the vehicle to fleet owners and key customers in the different markets.
This was a very important aspect, says Sherief Eldessouky, Nissan Africa Managing Director, as a key part of Daring Africa has been to amplify the Navara’s attributes across existing African markets as Nissan opens new markets for the Rosslyn made vehicle in North Africa, with the Navara on the cusp of being introduced to Egypt, Algeria, and Libya.
It has also been a wonderful platform for the Nissan X-Trail, launched in South Africa last year and in Egypt this year to prove its worth as the daring family adventure vehicle, running in support of the expedition alongside the tough, built of more Navara.
“I can’t wait to finally welcome the expedition to Egypt, finally joining the Hands that Build from our African LCV hub in Rosslyn with the Hands that Build at our African Passenger Vehicle hub in Cairo. It really will be a fitting finale to a truly bold and daring odyssey, just like we planned it,” Eldessouky concluded.
