Nigeria’s importation of used vehicles rose by 91.92 per cent to N249.84bn in the first quarter of 2026, amid the Federal Government’s intensified efforts to tighten controls on vehicle imports through a new mandatory certification regime.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics’ Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics for Q1 2026 showed that Nigeria imported used vehicles with diesel or semi-diesel engines of cylinder capacity above 2,500cc valued at N249.84bn during the review period, up from N113.36bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
Sunday PUNCH found that the United States remained Nigeria’s dominant source of used vehicle imports, accounting for N217.56bn worth of vehicles in Q1 2026, representing about 87.1 per cent of the total value imported during the period.
Other major sources were the United Arab Emirates with N10.32bn, Canada with N8.72bn, Italy with N6.64bn, and China with N6.60bn.
A comparison with the first quarter of 2025 showed that imports from the United States surged by 132.67 per cent, from N93.51bn to N217.56bn, while imports from the United Arab Emirates increased by 21.65 per cent, from N8.48bn to N10.32bn.
