A transportation and logistics expert, Mr. Paul Ndibe has revealed that there will be a possible increase in the demand for vehicles by Nigerians in the coming year, 2018.
Ndibe who is the Director General of the Chattered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) stated this last week in a chat with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos. He also urged the federal government to make it mandatory for vehicle manufacturers to have an assembly plant in Nigeria.
“And looking at the population of Nigeria, it will give rise to the demand for cars, you will now discover that particularly having in mind the marginal increase in income and the income generating capacity of individuals now, not necessarily the government, you will see that there will be a marginal increase in the demand for cars next year”
“So, for the government, it is a question of making a policy where these big manufacturers of cars, if they want their cars to be sold in Nigeria, they should set up plants in Nigeria, they should also have a particular design, specification that will suit our environment look at India and China, the cars might be smaller or lighter, it might have a different design and name just specific for Nigeria. By doing that they will create employment and it will also enable people to acquire these cars, families will satisfy their need for cars”
Explaining further, he maintained that there is also an urgent need for the big manufacturers to have particular brand of energy for brands of vehicles made for Nigeria market even as he blamed poor public transport system to be the major reason why individuals and families need cars.
“And then there is need for our own brand of energy that is PMS or diesel that these cars will be using. Because, what you see in overseas if you bring them here and use the type of fuel we buy in the open market, the engines will complain because they might not have the particular specification designed for those cars. That is why most of them brake down. But if you have a particular design for our economy that will suit our fuel and we have a new design for that environment. The absence of a public transport system
will warrant that families will like to own at least a car. And for government to look at the automobile policy, they should target these areas”
He also urged the government to outline automobile policies looking at the so many factors like the marginal increase in the population and the salary especially for middle class.
“Government needs to outline the policy for automobile industry. Look at the population of the country and the rate of vehicle importation into the country both fairly used and brand new one. Also look at the demand level, the marginal increase in salary particularly with the middle class and the need for mobility. I think that there is a need at all times to review an existing policy to reflect the current situation on the economy and the environment”
On the clamor for the reopen of the ban on the importation of vehicles through land borders by some automobile dealers he said.
“Politically speaking it is important but economically speaking it is also necessary for us to consider the security situation around the world.
And if the customs and other agencies will have the capacity to manage these borders so that all the cars coming in will pay their duties, the government will not worry. But the situation will arise where these vehicles have been coming and duties on them were not fully paid. So the government is at risk of losing revenue. In that respect, if the government is prepared to install all the machineries’ and those importing the cars will be honest enough to pay their duties on these vehicles there will not be any problem. But the temptation is that they avoid paying what they should. So in other to stop that the government has a restricted point of entering where all dues are collected and all infractions are made and when the government insists on doing that it will affect some quarters and that is what I feel is the reason for that”
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