History has it that, Dr Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma (OFR) from Nnewi in Anambra state is the first Nigerian to manufacture a made-in- Nigeria vehicle, there is the need for the business mogul to partner with other sectors of the economy for him to actualise his dreams.
History has it that, Dr Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma (OFR) from Nnewi in Anambra state is the first Nigerian to manufacture a made-in- Nigeria vehicle, there is the need for the business mogul to partner with other sectors of the economy for him to actualise his dreams.
The recently development in the automobile sector whereby the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and a Japanese firm are partnering to looking for the way forward in the quest for establishment of a vehicle recycling plant goes a long way to help the Nnewi based indigenous vehicle manufacturer.
The involvement of SMEDAN and the National Automotive Council (NAC) will surely aid foremost indigenous automobile firm; INNOSON Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) to manufacture its brands, not only for the Nigerian market, but also to other West African nations, perhaps.
The government, through NAC said that Nigerians spend about N600 billion annually on the importation of vehicles into the country.
The agency’s director general; Mr. Aminu Jalal who disclosed mid-year in Abuja had said that 50,000 new and 150,000 used vehicles are imported into the country yearly, even as he urged the federal government to discharge importation of vehicles to boost local content.
Although billions of Naira have been splashed on the IVM made-in-Nigeria vehicle project by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration as part of government’s encouragement, more need to be done to discourage importation of vehicles (especially fairly used) to Nigeria.
Auto Port Weekly gathered that as the government was giving IVM billions of Naira to support the Nigerian vehicle project, the same government was engaging in massive importation of BMW cars for official purposes, thus discouraging the local content drive.
Experts have analysed that if the government can place higher tariff on imported vehicles to protect locally made ones, it will discourage importation of mostly used vehicles.
With the promotion of local manufacturing of vehicles which the IVM boss has been championing since 2007, there is the need to also discourage importation of used vehicles.
In February 2007, he embarked on what some analysts perceived as a mission impossible, when he incorporated INNOSON Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited (IVM), to produce sundry commercial automobiles, utility vehicles and passenger cars, in collaboration with a consortium of Chinese auto manufacturers.
With the public display of some of these vehicles at the 2nd Nnewi International Auto Trade Fair held at the Beverly Hills Hotels (Gabros Sports Complex) in the last quarter of 2009, IVM did not only silence critics, but made a bold statement about its readiness to achieve the avowed mission of being the first indigenous auto maker to produce truly Nigerian vehicles that are affordable and reliable.
Ongoing discussions between SMEDAN and the Japenese firm named; Kaiho Sangyo on the proposed conversion of the Industrial Development Centre(IDC) for vehicle recycling plant in Abuja will also assist (IVM) in its project.
SMEDAN and the Japanese firm have said that the proposed vehicle recycling plant is expected to recycle entirely end of life vehicles which is common on our roads, to be turned into three kinds of steel namely: metal, aluminum and copper.
Operators in the informal sector have called on the federal government to encourage the first ever indigenous vehicle manufacturing firm.
Operators have also urged government to encourage local content as they pledged to patronize IVM whenever it has the capability to manufacture vehicles in high volume.
Recently, the President General of Berger United Automobile ,Chief Metche Nwadikwe lauded the effort of the entrepreneur, even as he promised to encourage his members to patronise IVM vehicles whenever the brands are produced in large quantity.
IVM is today a success story which has attracted effusive commendations and awards from various quarters, including the nation’s seat of power.
While opening the plant on October 15, 2010, President Goodluck Jonathan not only hailed Chukwuma for the courage of venturing into an industry many run away from, but also assured him of government’s patronage from the government.
The challenges recorded so far even with the low production, is the fact that there has been low patronage on the part of Nigerians
Also reacting on the need to encourage local content in the automobile sector, a maritime consultant and automobile dealer Mr . Ekene Obeleagu said IVM needs to embark on hire purchase of the vehicles.
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