The Chairman, Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing Limited, Innocent Chukwuma, has said the level of local content involved in the production of vehicles in his factory is about 65 per cent.
According to him, the company supports indigenous components and is ready to partner with any manufacturer involved in producing such components locally.
He said the company sources some items used in production of vehicles locally while some are imported.
He spoke with journalists recently after a facility tour of his plant in Nnewi, Anambra State.
According to him, when the factory started production 13 years ago, electricity in the country was very poor but today electricity has improved more than when operations started. He said if it drops, there would be a problem but it has increased ever since.
He said the plant has a facility to test vehicles, stating that if there is need for production, the company is capable of producing 60,000 vehicles yearly.
In his words: “We source some items we use in production of vehicles locally and import some. For example, I produce plastic components of the vehicle like bumper, dashboards, and front grille in Enugu. We are in a position that any item that anybody can localise, we would buy it from them. Any parts we get in Nigeria, we don’t need to import it. But up till today, we still import engines.”
He said the essence of producing vehicles in Nigeria is to sell brand new vehicles to Nigerians at cheaper prices but Naira devaluation and foreign exchange crisis have skyrocketed the prices.
Innoson said Nigeria is a big country, stating that the focus of the company is to conquer the motor needs of people in Nigeria and Africa.
He said: “If you watch, in Nigeria today, people are buying second hand (tokunbo) vehicles, so I decided to go and develop a motor, if not for foreign exchange, common man would be buying vehicles at a cheaper price in Nigeria. Because of foreign exchange of above N1000, a vehicle costs about N10 million now. My intention has been to sell a Mini SUV for N1 million. Those who import brand new vehicles, the prices are more expensive. So, we are still at benefit.”
He said he has gotten up to 15 contracts outside the country to produce vehicles, revealing that he sends vehicles to Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Senegal.
Speaking on why it is not easy to export within Africa, he said the continent does not have a shipping line that goes around the continent.
“Sometimes when you export to Ghana, the ship will carry the goods to Europe and come back to Ghana. But if we have an African shipping line that operates within the continent that would help a lot. Africa has a lot of things that can be shared among countries.”
