Moses Akaigwe
Nigeria’s passenger cars and light commercial vehicles manufacturer, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Co. Ltd (IVM), has signed a Contract Purchase Agreement with Shell Nigeria Gas Ltd for the production and supply of its vehicles to the latter, “for its official and operational uses.”
Innoson Vehicles is a fully indigenous auto maker while its latest high profile corporate customer, Shell Nigeria Gas Ltd is a fully owned Shell company incorporated in 1998 for the downstream distribution of gas to industries in Nigeria
The deal was signed last week by the Chairman/CEO of Innoson Group, Dr Innocent Chukwuma and the Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Gas Ltd, Ed Ubong.
In his brief address at the signing ceremony, Chief Chukwuma stated that Innoson Vehicles being the first wholly indigenous and leading vehicle manufacturing company in Nigeria has established itself as the leader in major markets across the country and West Africa owing to an interplay of strong points, including “high safety standards, dynamic and satisfactory performance, ruggedness, durability, absolute reliability and affordable prices.”
He further remarked, “Today in Africa, we are witnessing a revolution in car manufacturing led by Innoson, to produce the best vehicles that meet international and Standard Organization of Nigeria standards.”
Responding, Ubong said Shell Nigeria over the years had shown the lead among its contemporaries on the patronage of made-in-Nigeria products and strict local content policy.
He further recalled that this year, Shell emerged the International Oil Company with the most impactful local content initiatives in the upstream category at the 2019 edition of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State on April 4, 2019.
The Shell Nigeria Gas Managing Director also stated that the company would not just patronise Innoson Vehicles, but also help it to improve its quality and standard by constantly recommending areas for improvement.
The event also featured the cutting of tape which signifies the introduction of IVM as a vehicle supplier to Shell Nigeria Gas Ltd.