The Minister of Trade and Investments; Olusegun Aganga has disclosed that the Federal Government’s auto policy has led to a 20 per cent reduction in importation of vehicles into Nigeria.
The Minister who broke this news while unveiling the IVM Fox hatchback and the IVM Umu saloon cars at the Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited, in Nnewi, Anambra State, added that, the reduction was because of the policy which is aimed at reducing the dependence on imported vehicles.
The Minister of Trade and Investments; Olusegun Aganga has disclosed that the Federal Government’s auto policy has led to a 20 per cent reduction in importation of vehicles into Nigeria.
The Minister who broke this news while unveiling the IVM Fox hatchback and the IVM Umu saloon cars at the Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited, in Nnewi, Anambra State, added that, the reduction was because of the policy which is aimed at reducing the dependence on imported vehicles.
Commening the result if the auto policy, Aganga said, “we spend about $6 billion annually importing cars. However since the introduction of this policy, we have experienced a 20 per cent drop in imported cars and have exceeded expectations in a very short period,” he said.
According to him, the auto policy had dramatically reduced the volume of imported cars by 20 per cent since its introduction, while the president had implemented policies that would diversify the country’s economy and sources of government revenue.
“Some original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) do only 30 per cent but today we are all here making history in Nnewi the Japan of Africa, where we have successfully produced 70 per cent local component cars which is one of the highest. And when you talk about affordability, Innoson is the cheapest,” he said.
The minister said that, with the unveiling, Nigeria has joined the league of global car manufacturers, as the vehicles are made up of about 70 per cent locally sourced contents, according to the local content analysis done by the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE).
Aganga added that other global brands like Nissan, Peugeot and others were driving partnerships and capacity expansion in the country’s auto sector, adding that the current fall of oil price it had become critical that Nigeria should not continue to import what could be produced here locally.
On his remarks, Rasheed Olaoluwa, managing director, Bank of Industry (BoI), said Innoson was an exemplary customer of the bank adding that this was the beginning of more good things to come from the Bank’s partnership with the company.
“In Nigeria today, there are many companies that are into the car assembly, but today for the first time, we are actually manufacturing cars,” Olaoluwa said.
“The Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) is beginning to bear fruits in the key areas of competitive and comparative advantages, where we can drive growth and development in the economy,’ he said.
Ademola Olorunfemi, president of the NSE, disclosed that few years ago when the body paid a visit to the vehicle plant, they were given an IVM Bus to carry out a product analysis on it.
“Today, within two years Innoson has improved on all our recommendations and increased the vehicles local content up to 70 per cent which is not less than what is obtainable elsewhere in the world,” he said.
Also speaking on the policy, Nr rank Jacobs, national president, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), noted that the feat was a testimony that the Federal Government’s Auto Policy was working.
“The automobile industry bill has not yet been passed by the National Assembly and we are all expecting that it will be done soon enough,” he said.
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