Category: Motoring

 

Renault could be forced out of business if it doesn’t receive help from outside sources, France’s finance minister has warned.

In a Europe 1 radio interview last Friday, Bruno Le Maire warned the car maker “could disappear” and repeated the calls prime minister Édouard Philippe made earlier  for the Renault plant in Flins, outside Paris, to remain open.

The comments were in response to French media reports claiming a number of Renault factories could be closed and core models axed as part of a cost-cutting plan to save €2 billion (£1.8billion).

The European Union has granted approval for Renault to receive a €5bn (£4.5billion) loan backed by the French government to help it cope with a slump in demand and reduced liquidity due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, Le Maire admitted in a separate interview with newspaper Le Figaro that this hasn’t yet been signed off and discussions are still ongoing.

First revealed by weekly newspaper Le Canard Enchaîné, the reports suggest the Dieppe facility, which produces the Alpine A110 sports car, is also in the firing line, along with the Choisy-le-Roi spare parts plant on the outskirts of Paris and the Fonderie de Bretagne engine-and-gearbox plant in Morbihan near Lorient.

The Dieppe plant was overhauled in a €36 million (£32million) investment in 2017 to produce the A110, alongside the previous-generation Clio in Renaultsport form. The specialist facility employs 150 people. Demand for the A110 fell substantially in the first quarter of 2020, with just 61 examples registered across Europe in February. Its future is uncertain as a result.

The factory closures are just the start, however. The newspaper also reckons five models won’t live beyond their current lifecycle: The Mégane hatchback/estate, Koleos SUV and Talisman saloon could join the previously reported Espace and Scénic MPVs for the chop.

Only last week, the Financial Times claimed that Nissan is in discussion with Renault to build the Captur and next-generation Kadjar at its plant in Sunderland, England.

Renault UK refused to comment when approached by Autocar.

 

Nissan Motor Corporation is considering cutting 20,000 jobs from its global workforce, focusing on Europe and developing countries, Kyodo news has reported,  as the Japanese automaker struggles to recover from plunging car sales.

The possible cuts come as Nissan prepares to announce its updated mid-term strategy this week. Profits at the automaker have been floundering for the past three years, and the coronavirus pandemic has only piled on urgency and pressure to renew efforts to down size and turnaround the company.

Nissan declined to comment on the Kyodo report.

The automaker said in July last year it would cut 12,500 employees, nearly 10 per cent of its of 140,000-strong workforce. If Nissan raises that to the higher figure, it would rival the 20,000 jobs it shed during the global financial crisis in 2009.

Even before the spread of the coronavirus, Nissan’s sales and profits had been slumping and it was burning through cash, forcing it to curtail an aggressive expansion plan pursued by ousted leader Carlos Ghosn.

As a result, it will focus on strengthening cooperation with France’s Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, to make better use of the regional and technological strengths of all three car makers, and consolidate production capabilities. Mitsubishi had earlier reported an 89 per cent drop in annual profit in the year ended March 31.

Reuters has reported that Nissan’s management has become convinced it needs to be much smaller and will likely cut one million cars from its annual sales target, while seeing a bigger role for the United States and China in car sales.

Nissan, Reuters reported, also plans to scale back its European business and turn its focus to Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and commercial vehicles.

 

The Ondo State Government said Dongfeng Trucks, a truck assembly plant, will begin full operation after COVID-19.

The plant, located, in the Ondo-Linyi Industrial Hub in Ore, has begun skeletal operations.

The Manager of the industrial hub, Chief Alex Ajipe, said the plant would begin full assembly of trucks whenever the COVID-19 pandemic subsided.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the hub, located in Odigbo Local Government area of the state, was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in February.

It was also reported that the firm, established in 1969, is one of China´s leading truck brands, with the product range covering heavy and medium duty trucks.

Ajipe said this was the first time in the history of the state that a truck assembly plant would  be operating in the state.

Ajipe, also the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Klick Konnect Network International Limited, described the development as another remarkable milestone by the Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu-led administration in the state.

“The hub has recorded landmark establishments, such as one of the highest capacity producers of high quality food-grade ethanol in Nigeria.

“It has the first MDF factory in West Africa; a high-capacity textile mill and a paper mill, among others, all of which have employed the state indigenes in their thousands,” he said.

 

Tajudeen Adebanjo

 

Premium Pension Limited has announced Mr. Ibrahim Alhassan Babayo as its Board Chairman effective April 26.

A statement by Head of Corporate Communications, Aliyu Mohammed Ali, said Babayo’s appointment followed the retirement of the former Chairman, Arch Yunusa Yakubu, who held the position since 2017.

Other Board changes announced were the appointment of two Non-Executive Directors – Major General Bitrus vandos Themoi Kwaji (Rtd.) and Muhammad Musa Makarfi.

A graduate of Kaduna Polytechnic and Yaba College of Technology in Estate Management and a member of the Nigerian Institute of Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Babayo is an alumnus of several world leading institutions, including Harvard Business School, Wharton Executive Education, University of Pennsylvania, London Business School, and National University of Singapore.

Until his appointment as Chairman, Board of Directors, Ali said, Babayo chaired the Board Finance and General Purpose Committee that had oversight over the development of the Company’s Strategic Plan and is responsible for periodic review as well as monitoring the implementation of the Plan.

“He had also served in many Committees of the Board including Nominations, Audit and erstwhile Establishment Committees.

“It is these wide-ranging experiences, garnered within the last three decades, deep understanding of the business as well as the Strategic Plan of the Company that he is bringing to bear on his new assignment as the Chairman of the Board of Premium Pension Limited,” he said.

Premium Pension Chief Executive Officer Mr. Umar Sanda Mairami said Babayo’s appointment was in line with the strategic vision of Premium Pension Limited to become the foremost Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) in the Country.

“This is even more so when the company is implementing its five-year strategic business objective that aims to drive business growth and transformation. The appointment will also deepen the already sound corporate governance culture of the company,” Mairami said.

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

 

Coscharis Motors Plc, a subsidiary of Coscharis Group has reopened its auto sales outlets and service workshops in accordance with government directive. This opening cuts across her Quicklane services, major service centres and auto care business in Lagos and Abuja.

Coscharis Group Managing Director, Josiah Samuel said the operation has started with the health and safety of its staff and customers as priority.

Samuel said the auto firm delayed reopening to ensure strict conditions with a number of precautionary measures in place to sanitise and safeguard staff and customers.

The health and safety measures, he added, were now in place across all our business outlets.

“We are prepared to mitigate the risk of spreading contagious illnesses during service and sales transactions by reducing physical contacts to the barest minimum while ensuring social distancing where it is inevitable. The steps we are taking represent the highest standards possible and are in line with Government regulations to keep our staff and customers safe during the approved business hours,” he said.

According to Abiona Babarinde, the General Manager, Marketing and Corporate Communications, vehicle hand overs and collections for services will be managed with specifically allocated time slots and staggered booking times to ensure social distancing.

Babarinde said: “For all direct customer interaction areas such as the premise entrance, reception desks and parts and service counters, sanitisers have been provided with a social distancing notice of at least, two meters away.

‘’Cash will not be permitted for any transaction, and touchpads on card machines (POS) will be disinfected after every use.

“Strict protocols will see all staff and visitors undergo mandatory temperature checks upon entry to our premises. Furniture will be strategically arranged to maintain set distancing rules at the service and payments areas.

“Inside the dealership, customers are directed to the washing bay where all the vehicle touch points are disinfected and the key handed over to the service advisor, after it has been disinfected.

Vehicles leaving the dealership after services, repairs or purchases will be put through an intensive cleaning process using specially-approved products for various surfaces. All tools and service-based machinery will also be regularly disinfected.

‘’All Coscharis staff will wear face masks at all times, and uniforms will be washed daily. As per government guidelines our work facilities will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected daily with heavy traffic areas such as bathrooms, refreshment areas and service desks getting increased attention.”

 

By Jide Owatunmise

As fallout to the pronouncement by President Muhammadu Buhari and echoed by the Minister for Finance, Budget and Planning that some ministries, departments and agencies be scrapped or merged, so many news have appeared in the print, electronic and social media.

Among the news going round is that the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) is to be merged with the Nigeria Police. Going through the Oronsaye Committee Report and the government’s decision as contained in the report, I found out that the conclusion was that the status quo should be maintained except the Trauma or Emergency Centres which are to be handed over the the Federal Ministry of Health.

I decided to write this article to throw more light and further justify the decision of the Federal Government on FRSC as contained in the White Paper. The Oronsaye report and the subsequent report by the Centre for Social Justice((CSJ) revealed a gap in their understanding of the status and activities of FRSC as the Lead Agency on Road Safety Administration in Nigeria.

Virtually every country has a Lead Agency in Road Safety Administration responsible for the coordination of policies and activities on road safety. The FRSC has fitted perfectly into this position and has been improving progressively since it was established in 1998.

We knew how chaotic the traffic situation was in Nigeria before the Majamaja experiment of Oyo State, which later metamorphosed to the Federal level as FRSC. The fear of FRSC on the highways then became the beginning of wisdom for sanity and safety on Nigerian roads.

To cut down costs, a merger of FRSC with the Nigeria Police was conceived and implemented. The obvious result most Nigerians saw was the infusion of the blood of bribery and corruption into many officers of FRSC.

The officers of FRSC that were renowned for transparency and integrity in the conduct of their activities on the highways suddenly became experts and confident in the collection of bribes in the course of apprehending traffic offenders.

The unproductive fusion of FRSC and the Nigeria Police was terminated for good. Since FRSC returned to it’s original status, it has been growing significantly to become a pride of Africa in road safety administration.

The accusation that FRSC deviated into revenue generation is not correct. It is a global practice that traffic law violators be arrested, prosecuted and fined when found guilty in a mobile court or other courts.

This function is also contained in the FRSC Establishment Act and the National Road Traffic Regulations 2012. Concerning the driver licence and number plates, FRSC only designs and produces for standards and uniformity while the state governments issue same through their relevant agencies.

Payments for the driver licence and number plates are made by applicants into the bank accounts of the state governments through the state Boards of Internal Revenue or Motor Vehicle Administration Agency in Lagos State.

The Joint Tax Board monitors or regulates the payments and holds regular meetings with the state governments, FRSC and other relevant stakeholders.

Though revenue is generated through some activities of FRSC but the main focus of the agency is still on the promotion of safety on Nigerian roads as daily manifested in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), including local governments.

I  was proud to be a Nigerian when I travelled to Ghana with some members of the driving school association about two years ago on a visit to the Ghana Road Safety Commission. During our meeting, the Director-General of the commission told us that they havd been coming to the FRSC to learn how to further enhance road safety administration in Ghana. Many other African countries have been visiting the headquarters of FRSC to learn from the success stories of the corps.

Today, FRSC hosts the Secretariat of the West Africa Road Safety Organisation (WARSO). This is a further confirmation of the commendable role of FRSC in the promotion of Road Safety Administration in Nigeria and the West African sub-region.

FRSC has performed excellently well in launching the Driving School Standardisation Programme, which is already being taken to a higher level of professionalism this year.

The objective is to ensure quality driver education for safer road use. In the same vein, the transformation brought to the driver licence system in Nigeria from what it used to be to what it is now by FRSC in collaboration with the relevant state government agencies is  commendable.

Today, the Nigeria driver licence is recognised in some countries, including the United States, because of the integrity brought into the process by FRSC. Though there are still some lapses in the system which FRSC has been addressing more effectively since 2019 (last year).

With the conclusion of the actions, FRSC is taking with the other relevant stakeholders, the Driving School system, Driver Licence system and Road Safety Administration will become a pride of Nigeria in line with best global practice.

FRSC is well organised with advanced technology and up to date database greatly desired for planning and development in Nigeria. A visit to the ICT Department of FRSC is an additional affirmation of the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of the Corps.

Attempting to merge FRSC with the Nigeria Police or any other MDA will amount to drawing back the hand of the clock of road safety administration in Nigeria.

This will not only be a disappointment to Nigerians but also a drawback to the African countries that are seeing and following FRSC as a role model.

Instead of suggesting the scrapping or merging FRSC, the Corps should be well funded by the Federal Government to perform more effectively. The state governments and their relevant agencies particularly the Directorate of Road Traffic Services(VIOs) and the Board of Internal Revenue should collaborate more effectively with FRSC to maximise the benefits of synergy for the promotion of safety on Nigeria roads.

The ultimate goal should be to drastically reduce the rate of road traffic crashes and fatalities in Nigeria. This is a goal that must be of great concern to the  governments and Nigerians above all other factors.

In the past, I was a strong critic of FRSC, but with my investigations, interactions and proactive actions taken by the indefatigable management of FRSC in the past three years, I’m convinced, just like many other Nigerians have said, FRSC is capable with its leadership structure to accomplish the set goals in the interest of the nation.

FRSC should, therefore, be left to operate independently as provided for in its Establishment Act.