Over 150,000 vehicles imported to Nigeria yearly— NAC

Director-General of the National Automotive Council (NAC), Mr Aminu Jalal has said that the country imports over 150,000 used vehicles into the country yearly.
Jalal who made this assertion while speaking to newsmen in Abuja recently disclosed that the corresponding cost of this importation was over N600billion annually.
“Nigerians spend an average of N400 billion on importing passenger cars and by the time you add trucks and other vehicles, the amount Nigerians spend on imported vehicles will be running to N600 billion annually.” He said.

Director-General of the National Automotive Council (NAC), Mr Aminu Jalal has said that the country imports over 150,000 used vehicles into the country yearly.
Jalal who made this assertion while speaking to newsmen in Abuja recently disclosed that the corresponding cost of this importation was over N600billion annually.
“Nigerians spend an average of N400 billion on importing passenger cars and by the time you add trucks and other vehicles, the amount Nigerians spend on imported vehicles will be running to N600 billion annually.” He said.
He further stated that the countries current policy structure encourages importation while discouraging production.
“That is why we are trying to reverse it to something that is obtainable in India and others where it is easier to set up manufacturing plant than importing vehicles.”
He maintained that the proposed launching of Made-In-Nigeria vehicles in 2017 could not be remain realistic due to the current unfavourable policy which encourages vehicle importation at the detriment of production.
“Our approach to a Nigerian vehicle is that the vehicle that is being assembled will have up to 60 or 70 per cent local content, then you can call it Nigerian vehicle. Now to achieve that, you must first attract investors into the sector. The easiest way to do that is by putting in place the tariff that will discourage importation and encourage production of vehicles.” He stated.
Until we change this tariff structure, forget about Made-in- Nigeria vehicle, nobody will invest in the sector,” Jalal added.