The Director General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Joseph Osanipin, said Nigeria’s automotive sector has good prospects with a focus on growing component manufacturing to, at least, 40 per cent.
Osanipin said the council was looking at manufacturing parts in Nigeria and currently building a cluster of component manufacturers in Nnewi and Enugu industrial parks.
He stated this on a television programme monitored by The Guardian.
Osanipin said Nigeria cannot manufacture all the components of a vehicle but that it is, at least, aiming at achieving 30 to 40 per cent of component manufacturing.
According to him, a lot of investments are already coming into the compressed natural gas (CNG) space with companies willing to invest in manufacturing kits in Nigeria.
He said the auto sector has a lot of prospects and the council is prepared with the NAIDP signed into law and implementation of the CNG infrastructure.
“We are still promoting electric vehicles (EVs), however, CNG is getting more attention due to the country’s comparative advantage and CNG is a low-hanging fruit that we can have a lot of growth.
“The outlook is bright especially when you look at the prospects in the Nigeria Auto sector, that’s why we are focusing on growing the components manufacturing to at least 40 per cent. We are working on the MOU between components manufacturers, assemblers and NADDC.
“For us to accredit a CNG conversion centre, one must have at least three to four skilled personnel,” he said.
According to him, it takes between four to five hours to convert a vehicle to CNG-powered.
