Nigeria’s New Vehicle Sales Drops To Abysmal 10,000 Units

The prospects of majority of Nigerians buying brand new vehicles in the near future may not be guranteed as the total number of new vehicle sold in Nigeria may not exceed 10,000 units by the end of this year further painting a flood picture of a chequered local auto industry that is not growing at the expected pace.



The number of brand new vehicles according to figures show’s the total numbet of brand new vehicles dropping from 50,000 units, which was recorded before the introduction of a new automotive policy in 2013.

This was revealed at the 2017 symposium of the automobile and allied services group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry held under the theme, ‘The Nigeria auto policy: The current drivers’,Businessday online reports.

Executive Director, Truckmasters Nigeria Limited, . Oseme Oigiagbe, said the figures had consistently dropped from 50,000 units in 2013 to 40,000 vehicles in 2015; 20,000 in 2016 and 10,000 this year.

Oigiagbe, who said the Federal Government ought to have placed a total ban on the importation of used vehicles to drive the new vehicles’ patronage, lamented the high interest rate on vehicle loans, ranging from 25 per cent to 27 per cent.

On his 9.art, Executive Director, Kewalram Chanrai Group, Anil Sahgal, also put the total figures of new vehicles sold this year at 10,000 units, stressing that without the support of the government for the automobile assemblers, the industry would not make any headway.
The Executive Director, Nigerian Automotive Manufacturers Association, Remi Olaofe, said many of the auto assemblers were merely producing vehicles and dumping them in the warehouses as a result of low patronage.