Nigeria needs about 40 million vehicles to adequately serve its population of more than 200 million, against the estimated 12 million to 14 million vehicles currently on its roads, the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) has said.

NADDC Director-General Joseph Osanipin said the gap offered local vehicle assemblers an opportunity to expand production and capture a larger share of the domestic market under the Federal Government’s Nigeria First Policy.

Speaking in Abuja at a stakeholders’ engagement on the policy’s implementation and its implications for the automotive industry, organised in collaboration with the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Osanipin said the government was targeting locally assembled vehicles to meet about 80 per cent of national demand.

He argued that Nigeria’s automotive industry could attract more investment if the government supported domestic manufacturers to scale up production and meet the country’s growing transportation needs.

“Though no country produces all the cars it needs, the target is for Nigerian locally assembled car plants to produce about 80 per cent of what is needed,” he said.

The policy requires government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to prioritise procuring locally assembled vehicles, a measure intended to create a dependable market for domestic manufacturers and encourage investment in local production.

However, Osanipin cautioned that the policy would not automatically guarantee patronage for local assemblers, insisting that manufacturers must demonstrate product quality, durability, and the capacity to provide reliable after-sales services.

He said vehicle assembly plants must establish efficient spare-parts supply chains, ensure nationwide availability of genuine components, and provide maintenance services wherever their vehicles are deployed.

According to him, government agencies must patronise eligible locally assembled vehicles, while manufacturers must reciprocate by ensuring their products remain serviceable throughout their operational life.

In his remarks, the Director-General of the BPP, Dr Adebowale Adedokun, said the Nigeria First Policy had moved from the formulation stage to implementation, providing a more predictable policy environment for investors.

Adedokun said concerns about policy instability had previously discouraged investment in the automotive industry, despite local assembly’s potential to stimulate industrial activity and employment.

He said the government’s commitment to prioritising locally made products should give investors greater confidence to establish or expand vehicle assembly operations in Nigeria.

Adedokun also warned that government agencies could no longer routinely favour imported vehicles over eligible locally assembled alternatives.

He said the BPP would not issue certificates of no objection to MDAs seeking to procure vehicles from local assemblers that were not registered and certified by the NADDC.

According to him, the Bureau of Public Procurement Act 2007 empowers the agency to prioritise local businesses, even where locally produced goods cost more than imported alternatives, because domestic procurement can support employment, stimulate economic activity and strengthen industrial capacity.

The policy is expected to make public procurement an important source of demand for locally assembled vehicles, potentially encouraging manufacturers to increase production and deepen their investments in the domestic market.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Nigeria Automotive Manufacturers Association, Bawo Omagbitse, said the policy should go beyond boosting vehicle sales to develop local manufacturing capacity and strengthen the industry’s supply chains.

Omagbitse said uncertainty over government policies had previously discouraged both domestic investors and their foreign partners from committing resources to the sector.

He maintained that sustained policy implementation would be critical to attracting long-term investment and building an automotive industry capable of meeting a larger share of Nigeria’s requirements.

On efforts to improve product quality and protect consumers, he said vehicle dealers planned to introduce traceability barcodes to help buyers identify genuine spare parts and avoid counterfeit or unsuitable components.

The proposed system aims to strengthen consumer confidence, improve spare-parts traceability, and address concerns about the quality of components available in the market.

With the estimated vehicle population significantly below the level NADDC considers adequate for Nigeria, the industry’s challenge will be to translate the country’s potential demand into sustainable local production, backed by reliable components, competitive products, and effective after-sales support.

The stakeholders at the meeting noted that the success of the Nigeria First Policy will depend not only on government agencies purchasing locally assembled vehicles but also on manufacturers’ ability to meet quality standards, maintain dependable supply chains and provide services that make locally assembled vehicles a viable long-term choice.