FILE: DG, NADDC, Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin
Nigeria’s nearly 40 licensed vehicle assembly plants, with a combined installed capacity of more than 600,000 vehicles annually, are currently producing less than five per cent of their potential output, the National Automotive Design and Development Council has said.
The development highlights the widening gap between Nigeria’s capacity to assemble vehicles locally and the actual output of the industry, despite an estimated annual demand of about 800,000 vehicles.
The Director-General of the NADDC, Joseph Osanipin, disclosed this in a statement released on Friday, attributing the low capacity utilisation to weak vehicle financing, low patronage, grey imports, macroeconomic pressures and gaps in policy enforcement.
“Nigeria features an installed assembly capacity exceeding 600,000 units per year across almost 40 licensed assembly plants. Actual local output hovers around five per cent of capacity. Plants operate well below optimal efficiency due to low patronage, grey imports and macroeconomic pressures,” Osanipin said.
