Nigeria: 'Nigeria's Auto Plants Operate Below 500,000 Capacity'

What the report says

Nigeria’s automotive sector has installed capacity to assemble or produce about 450,000 to 500,000 vehicles a year, according to the National Automotive Design and Development Council, but output remains well below that level. The comments were made in Abuja at the opening of the 26th Abuja International Motor Fair, where the council’s director general, Joseph Osanipin, said local production could cover a significant share of domestic demand if financing, policy support and infrastructure improved.

Osanipin said Nigeria’s annual vehicle demand is in the same general range as its installed capacity, but noted that the market still relies heavily on imports. He pointed to access to credit, supportive laws and stronger local production of components as key to raising manufacturing activity. He also said the council has issued guidelines to help implement the federal government’s Nigeria First policy in the auto sector, and is working on an automotive bill and a component development programme.

The report said the NADDC is also cooperating with the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation on financing guidelines, while more than half of CREDICORP disbursements have gone to the automotive sector so far. The council said it has trained about 40,000 technicians and is encouraging nationwide after-sales service networks.

Industry Minister Jumoke Oduwole said the government would back the sector through consumer credit, legislation and regulatory reform, and would also help Nigerian manufacturers reach wider African markets through AfCFTA. Organisers and industry groups at the fair said Nigeria should evolve from a vehicle destination into a regional hub for assembly, parts production, innovation and trade.