Hot Stories

Vee Iye Calls For Release of Bobrisky, Gives Reason

I’ve Been Married for 20 Years But Never Cooked – Mojisola Hunponu-Wusu

I Stopped Going to Gym Because of Scantily Dressed Women – Actor Williams Uchemba

Israel DMW Reacts As Doctor Lists Benefits Of Marrying A Virgin

You Will Bury Your Children - Seyi Law Lays Curses On X User Who Accused Him Of Leaving A Club With A Pr*stitute

Comedienne Tomama Addresses Ladies Worrying About Aging Yet Still Unmarried (Video)

Hypocrites, You Chose Selective Outrage - Tacha Lambasts Nigerians For Seeking Justice For Bullied Schoolgirl (Video)

Actress Wumi Toriola Completes Master’s Degree at LAUTECH (Photo)

Lady Shares How She Was Turned From Slay Queen To Maid After Visiting Parents In The Village (Video)

Classic Okoli Weeps After Sharing Insensitive Message She Received For Escaping Boat Accident

I Am Going To Have Eleven Beautiful Children, My Late Son Will Return - Yul Edochie

You Bring So Much Joy, Into My World - Actor Browny Igboegwu Celebrates Wife on Her Birthday

Punish My Abusers Within 48 Hours or Face Lawsuit - Student Bullied by Her Classmates Threaten School Authorities

Toyin Abraham Calls Out Follower Who Left Negative Comment About Funke Akindele Under Her Post

Nigerians Accuse Nicki DaBarbie Lying, Dig Up Old Video of Her Smoking

Nigerian Lawyer Reveals The 'Powerful Love Portion' Calabar Women Give Their Men to Make Them Always Return Home

Mixed Reactions As Yul Edochie Hails Daughter, Danielle, Tags Her ‘Stubborn To The Core’ (Video)

Mohbad’s Father Starts Rap Career, Nigerians React (Video)

Reality TV Show, Social Media Portray My Parents In Bad Light – 2baba’s Daughter, Isabella Says

Kizz Daniel Dances With Wife in New Video Ahead of His Birthday

New Vehicle Importation Rate Falls by 90 Percent

Posted by George on Mon 15th May, 2017 - tori.ng

Nigerians appear to have desisted from the importation of new vehicles this year owing to the limitation of the recessive economy and other custom issues.

File Photo

Only 350 new vehicles were imported by Nigerian auto firms in the first quarter of this year, which shows a drop of about 90 per cent over 3,500 recorded in the same period last year.

The Managing Director of Toyota Nigeria Limited, Mr. Kunle Ade-Ojo, who gave the statistics at a press briefing in Lagos, attributed the development to high duty on imported cars, shortage of foreign exchange and economic recession.

Although he said the fall in vehicle imports was also witnessed last year, it was not as pronounced as this year’s.

For instance, he recalled that the total vehicles imported into the country in 2016 dropped to 7,000 from 18,000 in 2015.

According to him, the total retail market plunged by about 42 per cent from 32,000 units in 2015 to 18,000 in 2016.

He, however, said commercial vehicles sold more last year at 70 per cent than passenger cars, which recorded 30 per cent of the total sales.

He also said the total forecast for the year was between 8,000 and 10,000 vehicles.

“The scarcity of forex affected business last year and that affected importation. Also, there was the devaluation of the naira. Whereas in the first quarter of the year, the United States dollar was just about N200, by the end of the year, it had doubled. So, prices of vehicles also doubled in the space of one year and a lot of businesses could not afford to pay for the increase given that they were also struggling to survive,” he said.

Ade-Ojo, however, added that Toyota Nigeria had the lion’s share of 43 per cent of the 2015 imports, and 38 per cent of 2016 vehicle imports.

The TNL boss also said while 22,000 new vehicles were sold in 2015, 18,000 units.

The Federal Government had jacked up the import duty on cars from 22 per cent to 70 per cent to discourage vehicle importation and crashed duty on imported vehicle components by auto assemblers.