The Federal Government has assured that the automobile policy will not affect importation of used vehicles into the country.
The reassurance was given last weekend when the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga inspected the Peugeot Automotive Nigeria (PAN) car assembly plant in Kaduna.
He assured that government was no interested in imposing a total ban on importation of used vehicles, popularly known as tokunbo into the country.
The Federal Government has assured that the automobile policy will not affect importation of used vehicles into the country.
The reassurance was given last weekend when the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga inspected the Peugeot Automotive Nigeria (PAN) car assembly plant in Kaduna.
He assured that government was no interested in imposing a total ban on importation of used vehicles, popularly known as tokunbo into the country.
The minister added that the federal government had studied what was done in Pakistan, India, and in South Africa, adding: "It is normal that in most countries they ban the importation of tokunbo cars because that will help the demand for locally made cars."
"We must work towards providing alternative cars before we even consider placing a ban on tokunbo cars. So, in Nigeria, we have not banned the importation of fairly used vehicles yet. If we slow down the demand, it will slow down the pace of growth."
Aganga continued that; "If you look at the cars today, for every new car that is imported, almost six tokunbo cars are imported into the country. That tells you that the economy of the country is a priority, and when you see that, as a country you cannot afford to place a ban.
"The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has said we are not banning tokunbo vehicles until we have alternative for them. So, tokunbo cars will still come into the country and we will do everything possible to make sure that we can produce affordable and new cars for Nigerians."
Mr. Aganga also said that more local and international investors were taking advantage of the huge opportunities provided by the new automotive plan to invest in Nigeria.
On the PAN facilities, the minister said, “I’m greatly encouraged by the facilities I’ve seen here at PAN’s car assembly plant in Kaduna, which I am told is the biggest in West Africa. It shows that we are not just starting from the scratch when we say that we want to encourage automobile companies to establish and assemble their cars here in Nigeria, in line with the new automotive policy.
“One of the reasons PAN’s massive and world class facility, which used to employ about 4,000 Nigerians, went under was the absence of a comprehensive and holistic auto policy that takes care of the entire automotive value chain. This is what the new auto policy wants to address, he added.
On the enthusiasm of the vehicle manufacturers, he added, “I have been greatly encouraged by the announcements that have been made by reputable and global OEMS that they are coming to establish their automotive assembly plants in Nigeria. Nissan has said that it is coming to Nigeria, and that its first car will be produced in the country by April. They have already sent their technical team and are working with their local partners in Nigeria.
“Hyundai is also coming to assembly its vehicles in Nigeria and has already sent its SDKs into the country; Innoson has already signed an agreement with two Chinese Companies to expand its existing automobile assembly plant. These show that we have made remarkable progress just within a period of four months since the policy was approved and announced.”
Aganga, who reaffirmed the commitment of the Federal Government to the full implementation of the auto policy, stressed that Government, would continue to provide an enabling environment and level playing field for all stakeholders in the auto industry.
He said, “So far, we have been pleasantly surprised by the positive response from local and international investors who are already taking advantage or have signified their interest in leveraging the huge opportunities provided by the new automotive policy. As a matter of fact, it took many years for some automobile manufacturing countries to attract the level of attention and interest which Nigeria is getting today. For example, when South Africa came up with their auto policy, they had to go to each of the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to convince them to come and invest in South Africa.
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