Michael Ade-Ojo, chairman of
Toyota Nigeria L i m i t e d (TNL) and principal dealer on all new
Toyota models in the country, has announced the company’s plan to set up
an automobile assembly plant in Nigeria.
The development ends months of
speculation within industry circles on the company’s position of
establishing an assembly plant in Nigeria following the autopolicy of
the Federal Government introduced in 2013.
While the location of the proposed
assembly plant was not made known, BusinessDay exclusively gathered that
Toyota Nigeria may have acquired a moribund steel plant located at
Ikotun-Egbe area of Lagos for the assembly operations. Although
estimated investment value and sources of funds to be injected into the
project were not made public by TNL management, the upcoming plant will
have the capacity to assemble Toyota Hiace commercial buses under the
semi knock down (SKD II) programme.
The plant, according to the company
chairman, would be expected to be ready in August this year. Ade-Ojo
revealed these during the 2015 TNL customers and journalists’ award
night in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital.
It would be recalled that in 2013,
Ade-Ojo, who is also the founder of Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin,
Ondo State, said TNL was giving serious consideration to the
establishment of an automobile assembly plant in Nigeria.
He explained at the 2013 Abuja Motor
fair that although no decision had been taken yet on the proposal, it
did not foreclose the idea of establishing a Toyota auto plant.
According to him, “Many have expressed
the view that the time is ripe for Toyota, a consistent leader in
the annual new vehicle sales in the country, to set up an assembly plant
that will serve the local and neighbouring markets.”
While reiterating Toyota’s position that
it is not opposed to Nigeria’s automotive policy which seeks
to encourage local assembly of vehicles in the country, he also called
for transparence and fairness to all stakeholders and more commitment to
the government’s auto policy direction. Ade-Ojo said the company was
already thinking along the direction in tandem with the automotive
policy and pledged that the move was serious plan that
should materialise as soon as most of the conditions were met and
enabling business climate remained re-assuring.
Reacting to the development, Aminu
Jalal, director general, National Automotive Council (NAC), said
the decision of Toyota to set up an assembly plant in the country would
boost Nigeria’s much needed march towards industrialisation.
“Toyota is a global market leader and it
is hoped that the same feat will be replicated in Nigeria. It will
also help create jobs and other support industries as well as lower the
cost of locally assembled models which is part of the automotive
policy objectives.”
Kelly Nwosu, an economist, said that it
was expected that a Toyota assembly plant in Nigeria, like other local
assemblers that had shown interest in
producing cars generally, would lead to a reduction in the price of the brand of vehicles. It would also lead to the creation of more jobs, improvement and transfer of technology to the locals and boost economic development, he said.
producing cars generally, would lead to a reduction in the price of the brand of vehicles. It would also lead to the creation of more jobs, improvement and transfer of technology to the locals and boost economic development, he said.
In 2013, Ade.Ojo had told BusinessDay
that Toyota Nigeria was conducting a survey to obtain necessary data
that would lead to the establishment of the plant.
He said the actualisation of the project
would depend on a number of factors, but he did not enumerate the
factors. He simply said, “When we get most of the things (required), I
can assure you, we will get an assembly plant in Nigeria.”
He added that whenever the company was
ready, it would execute the project in conjunction with its
parent company, Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan.
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