ADDIS ABABA, Oct 19: Ethiopia has unveiled its first locally-assembled saloon car -- with parts imported from China -- two years after it rolled out a plant. The car named Abay -- Amharic for the Blue Nile -- was launched on Thursday by the joint Ethiopia-Dutch firm, Holland Car Plc, an industry official said.

“We are bringing new technology to the country, offering customers to buy new cars instead of older and more expensive ones from Europe,” Tadesse Tessema, co-founder the company, told AFP.

The four-cylinder Abay with five-speed manual transmission will cost $16,000. It also offers Anti-lock Braking System and available in five different colours. The firm imports parts from China.—AFP