Our Reporter October 9, 2013 2 Comments »
Stallion Group,
Nissan, to start auto assembly
in Nigeria
The country’s quest for local manufacture of
vehicles got a boost yesterday, as Nissan and
Stallion Group announced their intention to
jointly launch a vehicle assembly in Nigeria.
The announcement is in expectation of final
approval by the Federal Government of the new
Automobile Industrial Policy, designed to
encourage development of the auto industry in
the country, and will see Nissan become the first
major international manufacturer to launch
vehicle assembly in the country following the
new legislation.
Towards this end, Stallion Group and Nissan
have signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU), which will result in Nigerian company,
which is already Nissan’s exclusive distributor in
the country, increasing capacity at its existing
plant, VON Automobile Limited in Lagos.
Stallion currently produces commercial vehicles
at the facility. The plant’s annual capacity will be
expanded to 45,000 units to assemble a range
of cars, light duty trucks, pick-ups and vans. Full
details of the product line-up will be confirmed
at a later date. However, it is anticipated the
first product to be introduced will be the iconic
Nissan Patrol SUV in spring 2014.
Capacity at the plant will also be opened to
Nissan’s Alliance partner Renault, to be utilized
according to future business needs. Nissan
President and CEO, Carlos Ghosn, said: “We
welcome the proactive measures being taken by
the government of Nigeria to encourage inward
investment and job creation driven by local auto
manufacturing. Together with our local partner,
Nissan is preparing to make Nigeria a significant
manufacturing hub in Africa.
“As the first-mover in Nigeria, we are positioned
for the long-term growth of this market and
across the broader continent.” Sunil Vaswani,
chairman of Stallion Group said: “The new
automotive policy spearheaded by President
Goodluck Jonathan and the Minister, Olusegun
Aganga is a laudable government’s initiative,
aimed at making Nigeria the regional leader in
the industry.
“Our group is committed to invest in a fully
integrated automobile industry that fosters the
creation of several ancillary industries with
associated socio-economic benefits. “We value
our partnership with Renault and Nissan
immensely and are aiming to deliver their world
class expertise to Nigeria.”
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