AUTO POLICY: Foreign Auto Firms, Indigenous Manufacturers Should Collaborate – Minister

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Mohammed Sada, has urged foreign auto companies in Nigeria should work with indigenous industries to expand their production lines and boost the auto industry.
He stated that there were good industries in the country like KAM Industries that are making efforts to produce cars parts and body.

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Mohammed Sada, has urged foreign auto companies in Nigeria should work with indigenous industries to expand their production lines and boost the auto industry.
He stated that there were good industries in the country like KAM Industries that are making efforts to produce cars parts and body.
According to him, this synergy between foreign auto-companies and indigenous manufacturers was necessary to maximize investments and marketing opportunities in the auto sub sector of the Nigerian economy and market and even those of the neighbouring countries.
The minister spoke when he visited KAM Industries in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
He said that cars abroad would last longer because there are auto parts’ industries that could provide perfect replacements for damaged car parts.
This, he noted,would save money for the car owner, boost production activities and profit of the car parts providers, as well as stimulate economic activities and create more jobs in the system.
Sada said, “If you go and bash your vehicle, you do not need to buy a new one. That is what happens in other climes. I know a car that has lasted for 20 years in Europe can come into Nigeria and still pass for ‘Grade one,’ but the car has stayed for around 20 years abroad.
“The only difference is that they have motor spare parts that are readily available. If you bash your car, you do not start to weld it; you remove that part, get the mold of that damaged car; they will get you a new spare part and the car will look like a new one.
“There are already facilities to recycle into another product the part you removed from your car. These are some of the things that we are looking at.”
The minister noted that the steel sector is very strategic to the development of other sectors.