Domestic Production of Vehicles Hit 45,000 Units Per Annum

 

 

Like cement, Nigeria appears to be on the track towards becoming vehicles manufacturing country again as local production has increased to 45,000 units per year, up 80 per cent from 25,000.

 

Based on this growth, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), has projected that the Nigerian auto industry is expected to produce about four million cars annually by 2050.

 

Also, with this development, Dr. Innocent Chukwuma, Chairman, Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing Limited, IVM, said: “After sometime, Nigeria will manufacture cars for the whole of Africa.”

 

Recall that in the 1980s,about 120,000 brand new vehicles were being assembled in the country by six assembling plants made up of two car plants and four commercial vehicles plants.

 

The industry collapsed when government embraced World Trade Organisation’s free trade policy and opened up the country’s borders to imports including second hand vehicles.

 

 

Vanguard’s investigation revealed that the industry is gradually picking up again as data from National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) has revealed.

 

The document showed that “Up until 2015, Nigeria imported about 400,000 vehicles (100,000 new and 300,000 used) valued at $4.2 billion. Local production capacity is about 300,000, but utilisation is currently at about 15 percent of installed capacity. This translates to 45,000 units of vehicles per annum.”

 

NADDC, while not giving the detailed breakdown of the units of vehicles each company produces, said: “The response to the federal government’s automotive policy by the new investors so far has exceeded our expectations.

 

The current status of implementation of the policy is that the 14 existing assembly plants like VON, PAN, Innoson, Anammco and Leyland-Busan had started assembling new products in 2014, and new ones were established, assembling the following: Nissan, IVM, Peugeot, Hyundai, Honda, Kia, VW, Ford, Changan, GAC, Cars, SUV and light commercial vehicles;Hyundai, IVM, Nissan and Ashok-Leyland buses; MAN, IVM, Sino, Shacman, MAN, FAW, Aston, Foton Forland and Isuzu Trucks; and Proforcearmoured vehicles. 

 

The total installed capacity is over 300,000 units per annum. NADDC said: “By December 2014, the existing assembling plants had commenced operation at various capacity levels to offer existing brands out of new relationship with new Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM).