The Strategy and Commutations Adviser in Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Bisi Daniels has said that the national automotive policy was yielding positive results as well as drawing investors from across the world five years after it was strengthened and relaunched.
The major objective was to bring back Completely-Knocked-Down (CKD) automotive assembly and develop local content, thereby turning Nigeria into a vehicle manufacturing country.
“In many countries around the world, the automotive industry plays both a strategic and catalytic role in economic development and the objective of the national automotive policy is to restore assembly and develop local content, thus, creating employment, acquiring technology and reducing pressure on the country’s balance of payment.
“Efforts to attain an effective automotive sector have been a continuous one and as the policy continued to evolve over the years with necessary tweaking, remarkable achievements have made.
“The achievements made so far confirm the high potentials of the policy to grow the automotive sector,” says Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Dr. Okey Enelamah.
According to him, over 14 existing assembly plants like Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Limited (PAN), Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Co. (IVM), Anambra Motor Manufacturing Company (ANAMMCO) and Leyland-Busan had started assembling new products since 2014, and new ones had been established.
“Before this policy, three out of the five assembly plants established in the 1970s had become moribund. However, under the policy, 29 out of the 54 licensed Assembly Plants as at February, 2018 are now operational. A total installed capacity of 419,190 units and a total actual production of 8,628 units have been achieved so far.
“Also, Dangote Sinotruk West Africa LTD, a Joint Venture with total investment of $100 million for truck assembly will assemble and produce full range of commercial vehicles covering heavy duty truck, medium truck, light truck and other semi-trailers etc. It aims to meet an expected current demand of these segments of automobiles required for logistics, construction, food & beverage industries in Nigeria as the government focuses on boosting economic development across the country. The company has installed capacity to assemble and produce 10,000 trucks annually and this alone will create 3000 jobs across Nigeria.
“Another example of the positive results of the automotive policy is the growth of ANAMMCO. The company downsized its staff from 2011 due to the unfavourable conditions. The downturn in business also affected employment down the value chain. With the revival of manufacturing, ANAMMCO recalled 200 of the staff that had been laid off. The company is currently waxing stronger and has received several proposals from Original Equipment Manufacturers interested in establishing local assembly presence.
Daniels added that the policy had generated interest outside the country with a delegation of international automotive investors, comprising original equipment manufacturers and other stakeholders visiting the country.
“Among others, they sought to: gain insight into the opening business opportunities and investment environment in the Nigerian automotive sector; assist in the shaping of national and state policy to support industry overall and domesticated manufacturing for the automotive sector; gain insight into the automotive sector & potential for enhanced manufacturing in Nigeria; build relationships and networks with key Government and private sector figures; and to deepen the structured business links and investment between the private sectors of Nigeria and South Africa,” he said.
Dr. Enelamah, who was the host of the delegation during the visit said: “We are excited by the role the automotive industry plays in the strategic and catalytic economic development of countries and we are committed to developing the sector speedily to facilitate the economic diversification of the country.”
