2016 Nigeria Auto Journalists Award holds November 24

• Corolla, Peugeot 301, Almera makes COTY list 

The Nigerian Auto Journalists Association (NAJA) has released the list of finalists in different categories for the 2016 Nigeria Auto Journalist Awards.

According to a press statement by the Organising Committee, this year’s event which takes place at the EKO Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos on Thursday, November 24, 2016 has about 25 Award categories drawn from the automotive sector and ancillary sectors including some industry personalities.

Highpoint of this year’s award will be the in the Car-Of-The-Year (COTY) category where Toyota Corolla, Peugeot 301 and Nissan Almera were selected. As part of parameters for winning under this category, there will be a test-drive of the selected brands/models as was the criteria applied during the last award, the organising committee said.

Other categories of awards are Luxury Car of the Year, Road Safety Personality of The Year, Heavy Duty Truck of The Year, Auto Plant of the Year, CEO Of The Year, Auto Personality Of The Year and CSR Company Of The Year.

ALSO SEE: NAJA lauds Ford initiative on DSFL programme

Other categories include Mini Bus of the Year, Pick-up of the Year, Most Safety Conscious Transport Company of The Year, Traffic Management Agency of The Year, Showroom of the Year, Large SUV of the Year, Armoring Auto Company of The Year and Auto Industry Promoter of the Year amongst others.

In the four wheels categories, the selected brands and models will be judged on affordability, cabin styling, lay-out and ergonomics. Assessment will also be carried out on nominees engineering integrity and build quality, exterior design, overall excellence, ride quality, steering and handling, technology, transmission and above all, value for money.

According to sources from the organising committee, this year’s award is very historic especially coming at a time when the federal government is intensifying effort at developing the nation’s near prostrate automotive assembly plants.

The award the statement said is NAJA’s contribution to Automakers as well as component parts makers renewed efforts at putting Nigeria on the global industry map as one of the most strategic and highly-sort-after promising markets in Africa.