FG to launch auto-credit scheme to boost local automobile industry

The federal government has announced plans to launch an auto-credit scheme to boost the local automobile industry.

Doris Uzoka-Anite, minister for industry, trade, and investment, spoke on Tuesday at a 3-day automobile conference in Lagos.

Uzoka-Anite, who was represented by Joseph Osanipin, director general of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), said the scheme is aimed at easing the acquisition of locally manufactured goods by Nigerians.

“There is no better time for this automotive conference than now. The time is right, as this is the time when the federal government is focusing more on the renewed hope agenda,” the minister said.

“In the last few months, the minister has been mentioning to us the steps the government is taking to stimulate the development and growth of the automobile industry.

“The first step is that the government is working on creating auto credit scheme to stimulate demand.

“In Nigeria today, we buy vehicles on a 100 percent cash-down basis; this is not done in any other economy.

“We must be able to provide a credit scheme so people who are interested in buying locally manufactured goods can come together, go there, borrow and be able to finance acquisition of vehicles.”

She said the government is also working to transform Nigeria from being an assembling nation to a manufacturing nation.

The minister said the components manufacturers and the assemblers of vehicles will be signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to achieve this.

Speaking on the proliferation of fake auto spare parts in the market, Ngozi Emechebe, president of the Auto Spare Parts and Machinery Dealers Association (ASPAMDA), said the challenges posed by fake parts impact both the industry and the economy.

“Fake auto parts are counterfeit or unauthorised reproductions of parts made to look like genuine parts but often of inferior quality,” Emechebe said.

“Fake parts may cost significantly less than genuine parts, but they are often unreliable and potentially dangerous.

“In Nigeria, the issue of fakery is not new, as there is hardly any industry or sector that is not challenged by the faking of original products.

“Experts have also estimated that Nigeria loses about N100 billion annually as a result of road crashes, many of which are caused by the use of fake parts on automobiles.

“At the ASPAMDA, we do not tolerate the distribution of fake parts, as our members are well-informed and enlightened to avoid dealing with fake parts.”

Emechebe said ASPAMDA has collaborated with the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to combat the distribution of counterfeit parts in the market.

Also speaking, Georgina Lloyd, the exhibition manager at BtoB Events Limited, said the conference is aimed at enhancing awareness and building consensus on strategies to develop Nigeria’s automotive components and parts manufacturing industry.