The National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) launched the three years ago will in the long run turn out to be one of the best decisions taken in recent years by the government of Nigeria, when the initiative starts yielding the desired dividends.
This was the view expressed recently by an auto industry stakeholder and Managing Director of Lafbart Innovations & Consulting Ltd, Akure, Mr. Femi Olafunmiloye, while commenting on the merits of the auto policy, which he said, is the way forward for the industry that has had a chequered history.
While conceding that the implementation of NAIDP has been slowed down by some challenges, Olafunmiloye argued that the benefits to the industry would make up for the present teething problems, urging the Federal Government and its relevant agencies and institutions to articulate incentives that would alleviate the harsh industrial environment auto makers operate in..
Such agencies and institutions include the National Automotive Design and Development Council {NADDC}, Bank of Industry, both of which he commended for so far showing enough concern for what the investors in the auto industry are going through.
Olafunmiloye, however, advised that for the market to be empowered to buy more vehicles in order stimulate increased capacity utilisation in the domestic auto plants, government should fast-track efforts by the NADDC to introduce a low-interest auto purchase finance scheme.
“A lot of positive responses have been generated with this new policy. A lot of local companies are already blazing their trail in this sector and are poised to do more. Examples are Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Ltd, Stallion Motors {which now assemble Nissan, Hyundai, etc locally}, Proforce {which produces armoured vehicles} and our own Lafbart Innovations and Consulting Ltd to mention, just a few.”
He urged Nigerians to realise that the benefits of the policy would not come magically, but gradually, saying that in the early days of developing local content, it is expected that most vehicles parts would be imported, with the industry basically focused on just assembling.
“However, overtime, specific parts will be manufactured locally as Nigerian suppliers develop key competencies. As a catalytic effect, various industries are expected to spring up from this singular policy. The plan will facilitate local content increase in various vehicle parts.”
He identified the key areas as welded parts (exhaust system, seat frames); electrical parts (batteries, trafficators, wiring harness, and many others); plastic and rubber parts (tyres, tubes, fan blades, seat foam, oil seals, hoses, etc.); and radiator, cables, filters, brake pads/linings, windscreen, side glasses, fiber-glass parts, paints etc.