The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) has announced the establishment of necessary structures and frameworks required for local production of vehicle spare parts in the country

The local production of spare parts is expected to reduce Nigeria’s reliance on imports, which currently costs the country $1 billion annually.

The Guardian reports thatJoseph Osanipin, the NADDC Director General, disclosed the plan during a two-week automotive engineering and software design training held in Abuja.

The training was organised in partnership with Midas IT Co. of South Korea and focused on the Midas NFX software, a platform for advanced design and analysis.

Speaking on behalf of the Director General, Fidelis Achiv, the Director of Research Design and Development, stressed the council’s commitment to transforming Nigeria’s automotive industry by increasing the percentage of locally manufactured components in vehicle assembly.

“We aim to reach a point where we can assemble vehicles with up to 40% locally manufactured components,” he said.

Although there are vehicle assembly operations in Nigeria, Achiv noted that the current assembling processes do not add significant value to the economy.

He explained, “Vehicles are often shipped as completely built units. Here, they simply remove the tyres, exhaust system, and engine for reassembly. We want to shift from this model to one where vehicles arrive unpainted, welding is done locally, and some components are produced here to add greater value and create more jobs. With over 11 million vehicles on Nigerian roads, there is significant potential.

“Out of the more than 3,000 parts in a vehicle, if we can successfully produce just 10 components recognized globally for their quality, the market potential will be enormous and could significantly change our economy.”

The training boot camp, which hosted 15 participants, aims to equip engineers with the skills necessary to achieve this vision.

Achiv explained, “The goal is to train engineers to design and produce parts, making Nigeria self-sufficient in vehicle parts production.”