PAN Nigeria Limited has started the production of Higer Bus in its plant in Kaduna, following the recent partnership between it and Higer Bus Company Limited of China.
PAN Nigeria is the foremost multi-brand automobile manufacturer and assembler in the country and Higer Bus Company, established in 1998, is China’s leading exporter of buses and coaches. The Higer company’s vehicles are available in more than 100 countries in Asia, Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas, according to a statement by PAN Nigeria’s Head, Corporate Communications, Mr. Oladeji Victor Bamidele.
The models to be produced in Nigeria are Higer H5C 16-seats, Higer H6C 19-seats and Higer Ambulance. The vehicles, useful for mass transit, transportation of school children, and ambulance services, started rolling off the company’s assembly lines in Kaduna in December 2019. The partnership also enables the delivery of city buses for mass intra-city bus services.
The Higer Bus comes with features such as Charging ports for all passengers/occupants, park-assist, rear camera, DVD/15’ LCD Display for passengers as well as spacious leg and head room. In addition, the Higer Ambulance is fitted with state-of-the-art medical equipment such as suction catheters, stretcher belts and anatomical mattress, silicon resuscitators with mask, pulse oximeter, digital thermometer, 2kg fire extinguisher, automatic loading stretcher, scoop stretcher, AC/DC electronic suction machine, and oxygen regulator, among others.
The Managing Director of the Company, Mr. Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed, said, “PAN Nigeria has a long rich history in the production of quality vehicles in Nigeria, which have proved to be durable and high performing. Some of the station wagon ambulances that we produced as far back as the 1980s are still being operated by some hospitals in urban and rural communities throughout the country. The Higer Ambulance and transport buses will follow this proud tradition of durability and quality.”
Mohammed added that, “With the recent Coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria, hospitals and other health establishments, along with their doctors, nurses and other personnel are currently going through trying times. There is a huge need today for many more ambulances to be supplied to this sector, and we are responding to this national challenge by opening up a new production line in our factory dedicated to producing these emergency medical vehicles.”
The company’s Head of Quality, Mr. Ojo Oladapo, said that “PAN Nigeria today has enough capacity to meet all the country’s need for ambulances, school buses and mass transit vehicles. The bulk of the interior fittings in the Higer Bus are sourced locally from suppliers spread across the country. Our factory currently has an installed capacity to produce 45,000 vehicles in a year. Producing these vehicles locally will deepen productive activities, create important backward linkages, increase employment and preserve foreign exchange. The new Higer Bus models will be marketed, distributed, and represented by PAN’s accredited dealers across the country.”
