Nigeria targets car manufacturing giant position in Africa

Nigeria is to start producing 50,000 vehicles per year locally for the next five years.

The objective is to become a car manufacturing giant in Africa, limit importation of vehicles and also to diversify the economy and reduce its dependency on oil.

The target is four times higher than last year’s production of 10,000. The move is expected to cover 80% of the country’s automobile demand.

In 2013, the country adopted a “development plan for the automotive industry.” It offers incentives to major players in the industry who may want to establish in Nigeria.

The National Council of Design and Development Automobile (NADDC) statistics indicates the annual importation of 40,000 vehicles and 300,000 second-hand vehicles.

Car giants Toyota, Tata have already shown interest in the Nigerian market. PSA Peugeot Citroen and Nissan have also signed agreements with some Nigerian companies to assemble vehicles locally. PSA Peugeot Citroen is expected to have a site at Kaduna to this end.

According to a recent report by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC), Nigeria has a potential demand of one million vehicles per year.

iframe> The country that has suffered the brunt of the fall in oil prices has had its economic growth stagnated at 3.2% as against the 6.3% projected.

The government expects the diversification into the car manufacturing industry to rake in more revenue.

The Nigerian automotive sector is currently generating 70,000 direct jobs according to the NADDC.