Importation of New Cars Slides by 67% on Forex Scarcity

Automobile industry sources over the weekend have revealed that the importation of brand new cars into Nigeria plunged by 67 per cent in 2015.

Some stakeholders have attributed the massive plunge to the federal government’s re-launched automotive policy while others opine it was mainly due to the challenges with foreign exchange liquidity.

The National Automotive Design and Development Council, NADDC, estimates annual imports at about 400,000 vehicles with 50,000 units as new cars valued at N679.65 billion ($3.45 billion).

Meanwhile, data from the NADDC revealed that there are now over 40 auto assembly plants across the country.

The latest national accounts (Q4 2015) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the motor vehicles & assembly segment of the manufacturing sector contracted by 13.0 per cent year-on-year, compared with 24.3 per cent growth recorded in the corresponding period in 2014.