…says auto sector‘ll bring more revenue if fully developed
Stallion NMN, manufacturers and distributors of Nissan vehicles in Nigeria has warned of impending stagnation in the country’s evolving automotive sector unless the Federal Government wholly implements the National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) and give deserving operators the latitude to function optimally.
Nissan Nigeria Regional Project Director, Mr. Sorin Profir gave this charge in Lagos at a media engagement to acquaint local automobile journalists of the company’s successive plan of action and Nissan’s accomplishment since 2014, when it rolled out the first Nissan vehicle.
Mr. Profir counselled the Federal Government to embrace the automotive industry as a viable alternative to oil that is already drably priced. “The automotive industry is a catalyst of growth in most global economies and we can’t continue to depend on oil – reason why we should explore the inherent opportunities in automotive manufacturing,” he reasoned.
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He said government should immediately implement the auto policy document and restrict gratuitous importation of vehicles that can be locally manufactured while it encourage the establishment of more ancillary industries such as tyre, battery and glass companies to accelerate the inclusion of substantial local contents.
Also commenting on the automotive policy, Stallion Nissan Nigeria Motors Plant Head, Mr. Prakash Karat said “the plant hasn’t been stretched to its installed capacity since it began operation in April 2014 but we have produced only 3,050 units of four variants of Nissan vehicles including Nissan Patrol, Almera, NP300 Pick-up trucks and NV350 commuter bus.
He enjoined customers to be assured of the quality and standard of vehicles produced at the Nissan plant which according to him compares to similar products manufactured in overseas plants.
Stallion Nissan Motors Nigeria plant was inaugurated in April 2014 with three fully equipped assembly lines for SKD (Semi-knocked-down) components with an annual installed capacity for 15, 000 vehicles but has only produced 3,050 vehicles as of June 2015.
The Nissan plant head who guided the automobile media round the facility at the Volkswagen Estate along Lagos-Badagry Expressway said plans are underway to transform Nissan Motors assembly plant from SKD II to a CKD tooling plant.