The Nation Newspaper

Tag: auto

  • Vitafoam eyes auto industry

    Vitafoam eyes auto industry

    Mattresses and pillows, maker Vitafoam is gearing up to become a key player in the auto industry by tapping into the newly- introduced auto policy, its Group Managing Director (GMD), Mr. Joel Ajiga, has said.

    Ajiga, an engineer, told The Nation that the company plans to play in the low injection part of the auto industry through its subsidiary, Vita Visco, to manufacture vehicle parts, such seats, dash boards and others.

    The GMD, who spoke in his office in Lagos, however, said his company was faced with myriad of challenges, such as infrastructural deficit, especially epileptic electricity supply and bad roads, which affect the company’s manufacturing and supply chain and eats into its bottom line.

    He said bad condition of the roads means bad business for the company as goods are transported across the country by road. He therefore, called on government to work on the road infrastructure to reduce the cost of transportation of finished products and repairs of damaged vehicles.

    Ajiga also said over 60 per cent of the energy utilisation in the company’s factory is self-sourced at huge cost, urging the Federal Government to ensure that Nigerians and the industrial sector get the full benefits of the unbundling of the power sector.

    According to him, manufacturers can only key into the government’s Transformation Agenda if the policies are beneficial to their operations.

    He further stated that because of the dwindling disposable income of most Nigerians, there is a limit to how much cost manufacturers can transfer to consumers as part of inward-looking, cost-cutting strategy to stay afloat.

    The company’s Finance Director, Mr. Bras Ogun, said that for the company to play effectively in the auto sector there was need to revive the nation’s petrochemical industry. He regretted that the devaluation of the local currency increased the price of base materials from the petrochemical industry, which are unfortunately imported into the country despite the fact that Nigeria is an oil exporting country.

    “The devaluation has caused a price differential of about N35 in our base material. It will affect the bottom line for this year. Our plan is to start producing some of the chemicals locally and also look at other cost cutting measures. This singular policy has made negative impact, but we are trying to keep the cost of operation as low as possible.

    “We want to cushion our pricing model through our reserves, which acts as shock absolvers. In that scenario, we will not need to pass the cost to our consumers because our creativity and innovativeness will always put us on the leading edge of the nation’s economic growth and development,” Ogun added.

    Corporate Service Director, Vono Products Plc, one of the company’s subsidiaries, Mr. Tunde Anjorin, said the firm has since transformed into a vibrant company manufacturing hard furnishing, conventional and security doors for schools, hotels for basic and luxurious comfort, satisfying all segments of the society.

    The company’s Head of Sales, Shola Owoade, said the firm is exploiting polymer to produce most of its products such as prefabricated buildings and insulated structures, which conserves energy and reduces cost.

    He said the company is also building pre-fabricated structures for mass housing already in use in Osun State to build classrooms using polymer as base material.

    On the export arm of the business, the Vitafoam boss said that the company has built a-state-of–the-art production complex in Sierra Leone, which will soon start operation. The company also has a trading outfit in Ghana.

  • Auto industry’s past, future collide in Detroit

    Auto industry’s past, future collide in Detroit

    For Detroit’s first auto show of the 21st Century in January 2000, General Motors announced “the largest auto show exhibit ever in North America” to usher in the new Millennium.

    Company publicists declared that if the exhibit’s 230 tons of steel were melted into beams and laid end-to-end they would stretch seven miles, equivalent to crossing the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Canada four times each way, or running the length of a soccer field 105 times. GM’s press release added that the steel would rise three times higher than Mt. Fuji, a not-so-subtle swipe at the company’s automotive rivals from Japan.

    That exuberance provided a sharp contrast to the Detroit show a decade later in January 2009. Record profits had turned to record losses. GM’s exhibit was a few vehicles parked on a dirty carpet. Company executives staged a pep rally at which hundreds of employees chanted, “Here to Stay, Here to Stay.” GM declared bankruptcy just six months later.

    This year marks this correspondent’s 30th straight Detroit car show, or the North American International Auto Show as it is officially called. While the 2000 and 2009 shows were especially memorable, each had its special flavor reflecting the prosperity, austerity, upheaval, or (more recently) transformation of an industry that helps shape the economies and define the cultures of nations.

    This year will be no exception. The global auto industry is undergoing three simultaneous technological transformations: the propulsion revolution, the connectivity revolution and the autonomy revolution.

    The first will determine whether the internal combustion engine will be supplanted by hybrid cars, battery-powered electric cars or hydrogen fuel cells. This effort will continue, the recent plunge in global oil prices notwithstanding, because governments seem to love alternative fuel vehicles, even if most consumers do not.

    The connectivity revolution is putting Internet services, from satellite navigation systems to advanced telecommunications, into vehicle dashboards.

    The autonomy revolution, in plain English, is the driverless car. It is already creeping into vehicles in the form of radar that can sense a potential collision and automatically apply the brakes.

    Ultimately, autonomous cars might obliviate individual ownership as cars ferry passengers to their desired destinations before heading off to pick up their next customer. Driverless cars could be a linchpin of a future “sharing economy.”

    At this year’s show all three trends will be evident, but not dominant. Google’s driverless guru, Chris Urmson, will attend the show, but without one of the company’s prototype cars.

    For every electric-powered Tesla there will be lots of gas-gulping pickup trucks and SUVs, the vehicles that for all the impending technology upheavals still fuel Detroit’s profits.

    The future’s uneasy coexistence with the present has been a recurrent theme during my annual pilgrimage to the Motor City. This juxtaposition was starkly evident, for example, at the show’s centennial year in 2007, when GM drew rave reviews for its prototype “plug-in” hybrid car, the Chevrolet Volt.

    Last year the Corvette (all models, not just the ZR1) outsold the Volt by almost two-to-one, as the Volt continued to short-circuit, metaphorically, in showrooms. GM is introducing a new version of the Volt this year.

    One of my vivid auto show memories occurred when I was leading a group of Cub scouts, including two of my sons, through the show on the night of Jan. 17, 1991. It was the night the first U.S. war in Iraq started.

    We rushed to the press room to see the bombing on big-screen television. “Let’s go home now, boys,” I said after a while. “Tonight isn’t a good night to look at cars.”

     

    Today, nearly a quarter-century later, Iraq’s agony is far worse.

    The next year, Chrysler executive Bob Lutz drove the new Jeep Grand Cherokee up the steps of the Cobo Hall exhibition center and deliberately crashed through a plate glass window in a grand publicity stunt for the company’s latest new model.

    In 2008 another Chrysler stunt turned to PR disaster. The company staged a cattle drive of 130 Texas longhorn steers through downtown Detroit to tout its new pickup truck. But with kids watching and TV cameras whirring, some nervous animals started mounting each other, prompting snickers about horny longhorns.

    One highlight of the 1986 show, my first, was the debut of the Ford Taurus, with revolutionary curvaceous styling. Buick introduced touch-screen dashboard controls, in now-anachronistic green-on-black. The Chevy Corvette had 230 horsepower, less than today’s six-cylinder Honda Accord.

    The Detroit show is held in January to be first among each year’s major car shows. The archetypical weather is sideways sleet and slush up to your shins. Watching executives’ wives traverse the mess in expensive gowns at the show’s annual black-tie charity preview – known locally as Detroit’s version of the Oscars, where “the cars are the stars” – is always a spectacle.

    Last year, for the first time, one of the gowns belonged to a CEO, GM’s Mary Barra, the first woman to lead a major car company. That might be more revolutionary than anything else I have seen over the past 30 years.

  • Chevrolet Trailblazer shines at Auto Fair

    Chevrolet Trailblazer shines at Auto Fair

    The latest model of Chevrolet Trailblazer Sport Utility Vehicle solely distributed by CFAO Motors in Nigeria, asserted its dominance at the Abuja Motor Fair. It also marked 10 years of Chevrolet’s impressive back to back appearance at the annual automobile festival in the federal capital city, having debuted in 2004.

    As the star SUV of the motor show, Chevrolet Trailblazer was prominently positioned at the pavilion of CFAO Intermotors, a division of CFAO Motors whilst visitors took turns to appreciate its body, engine compartment, the dashboard, the classy interiors and several other ensembles of the vehicle. The general conclusion of the visitors at the fair was that it is the SUV to have, being a lifestyle, family, business and all-roads automobile.

    The Trailblazer has a 6-speed automatic with a sequential shift override, a very smooth gearbox and remarkable performance-based fuel economy. Its excellent visibility and large mirrors, double wishbone front and Five-Link coil spring rear suspension ensure that its driving power remains in the hand of the driver. It is fitted with 245/70R18 tyres, four-wheel disc brakes to deal with the necessity of a sudden stop.

    The body is made up of large dual-port grille, carved bumpers, clamshell hood, flowing side crease, wide-floodlight headlamps, power windows and wiper stalks.

    The 7-seater SUV has a noiseless 2.8 litre engine with 200 horsepower at 3,800 rpm and 500 Nm of torque at 2,000 rpm. This power is unequalled in its category anywhere in Nigeria.

    Confirming the notable presence of Trailblazer at the fair ground, the Head of Intermotors Division of CFAO Motors, Mr Ladi Abiodun said the Trailblazer was specially positioned for Nigerians who do not want to bother about any transportation problem.

    “Whether the road is smooth or rough, whether traffic is light or heavy, whether the destination is far or near, Chevrolet Trailblazer delivers with pleasurable comfort and assured safety. Having introduced the SUV to Nigerians a few months ago, we have a few units left which visitors to our pavilion could pick at a good discount during the motor show only,” Abiodun said.

  • Insurance firms launch first online auto policy

    Insurance firms launch first online auto policy

    In its quest to encourage insurance culture, six leading insurance companies including AIICO Insurance, Custodian & Allied Insurance, Leadway Assurance, NEM Insurance, Royal Exchange Plc and Sovereign Trust Insurance along with the National Insurance Commission and Hightower Insurance Brokers at the weekend launched MyAutoGenius.com, arguably Nigeria’s first online insurance comparison platform that promises to provide car owners across Nigeria with auto insurance policies within five minutes.

    With 15.5 million cars in Lagos alone and over 14per cent of cars on Nigerian roads uninsured or driving with fake insurance policies, there has always been a gap to access an insurance intermediary channel that will provide the advantage of convenience, speed and authentic insurance covers in real-time.

    All insurance policies bought on myautogenius.com web or mobile sites will also  be uploaded instantly on Nigeria Insurance Database (NIID), by Hightower Insurance Brokers Ltd (The brokerage company behind AutoGenius), to guarantee its authenticity.

    At the launch, Mr. Kola Oyeneyin CEO, Venia Technologies Limited, owners of myautogenius.com, demonstrated to the audience how fast and easy it is for prospective clients to buy their car insurance covers available from the leading insurance players in the country within five minutes.

    Speaking on the new innovation, the Deputy Director of the Nigerian Insurance Commission – Mr. Segun Farinu, who represented the National Insurance Commissioner Mr. Fola Daniel, said the entire insurance industry in Nigeria is excited about an expected positive impact that technology would have in the insurance sub-sector, especially with initiatives like myautogenius.com.

    He said that the seriousness of the insurance industry was evident as all partners have come out in full support of the transformation drive embarked on by the team at AutoGenius.

    Echoing similar sentiments, Mr. Onyeka Akumah, Lead Marketing/Communications Consultant at AutoGenius also explained that leading up to the launch, the  marketing team created hash tag #OneGuyLikeThat to ask Nigerians about their ‘One-Guy-Like-That’ experience in general and as it concerned auto insurance.

    With over 204,285 Nigerians reached in seven days of starting off the campaign, there was a lot of buzz and expectation to the launch of AutoGenius in other to understand what exactly Nigerians were to expect from the platform, Akumah stressed.

    Other partners who were well represented at the event and support the platform with added advantages for users who will purchase their auto-insurance policies through the platform include AA Rescue, and Oando Marketing Plc , which had Mr. Mobolaji Bamiro  representing its Chief Executive, Mr. Yomi Amobokun.

  • NACCIMA reiterates commitment to auto policy

    NACCIMA reiterates commitment to auto policy

    The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) haspraised the Federal Government for coming up with the auto policy, which is expected to reduce importation and boost local production of motor vehicles.

    According to the association’s National President, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, the effort of government has started yielding results as assembly plants such as Innoson Motors and NISAN have begun  operations in the country to boost supply of automobiles for the citizens.

    The auto policy, according to him, in the long term will create jobs as there will be off shoot of companies to produce auto accessories like windscreen and glasses, car seats, etc. This will gradually lead to complete auto production in the country, thereby fulfilling the long term auto plan of government.  Also, learning from Nigeria’s past failure, an emphasis on developing dynamic and innovative assembly plants is the best way to ensure the industry will be sustainable. This ensures that Nigerians can purchase modern cars, which will eliminate the desire for foreign cars.

    However, to ensure that the good intention of government on the policy  will become a reality if it is well harnessed and implemented and probity brought to bear in the overall interest of all stakeholders.  NACCIMA applauded the government for the extension of the levy to next year, adding that it will no doubt, enable the assembly line to produce the right quality at the required quantity at the right time.

  • Jonathan and the new auto policy

    The new automobile policy introduced by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration in October last year and programmed to fully take off in May and later shifted to July 1, this year has continued to raise dust among stakeholders in the industry.

    The battle is so fierce that it is being likened to the experience in the power sector where importers of electricity generating sets are alleged to be working against government’s reforms in the sector.

    Government believes that the new automobile policy will not only transform the sector by ensuring mass production of cars in Nigeria, but will also boost foreign exchange earnings through export of such made-in-Nigeria cars.

    It also expected the policy to greatly tackle the rising unemployment rate in the country.

    But some Nigerians who kick against the implementation of the policy believe that government was putting the cart before the horse by raising duty paid on imported vehicles without first putting the necessary structures on ground.

    This, they said, will impose more hardship on the citizenry, who mostly rely on used or second-hand imported cars, popularly called tokunbo cars.

    According to them, the 70 per cent, made up of 35 per cent duty and 35 per cent levy on imported vehicles being introduced under the new policy should be  imposed on imported cars when new vehicles start rolling out in large quantity from factories in Nigeria and at affordable prices.

    By the time the affordable made-in-Nigeria cars flood the Nigerian market, they argue, the importation of used vehicles will naturally go down as Nigerians will then decide whether to patronise locally-produced cars at affordable prices or pay exorbitant duty for imported cars.

    They currently believe that government is more interested in raising the import duty on imported vehicles than manufacturing new cars in the country, pointing out that the environment is not conducive to the automobile policy as it is characterised by poor infrastructure, poor power supply, high overhead costs and lack of technical manpower. They also maintain that the policy cannot be realised by executive fiat.

    Stressing that they are not really against the new policy but its implementation, they pushed for the right sequences to be followed in the public interest as they claimed that the present implementation is anti-people.

    Unless the government gets the policy implementation sequences right, they warned, Nigerian importers may likely shift to Benin Republic or other neighbouring ports which will result in loss of revenue to the Federal Government.

    The controversy surrounding the new policy was among the issues that dominated discussions at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, presided by President Jonathan last week. It subsequently, mandated the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga to enlighten the public more on the new policy.

    Aganga said: “The article had claimed that the duty on the used cars is now 70 per cent from yesterday. That is incorrect. It is 35 per cent. It also claimed all used cars now coming into the country would pay duty of 70 per cent, which again is incorrect.

    “For all those in the auto policy programme, all those car assembly plants in the programme, the policy is that they would be able to import cars to meet the gap when you look at production and the demands in the country. They would be able to import those cars at 35 per cent. So, it is not 70 per cent.

    “It is only for those who are putting strain on our foreign reserves who have no intention to create jobs, who want to continue to remain traders that the 70 per cent applies to and this is to discourage trading. It is to encourage local assembly and job creation and unnecessary pressure on our foreign reserves.

    “Why would you import cars at 70 per cent while others are importing at 35 per cent? So, we do not expect to see anyone importing cars at 70 per cent. It was just a measure to encourage people to go within the policy group.

    “On used cars, in every country when you have auto policy, used cars are banned. Even when there was a meeting of the auto manufacturers last week, they pushed for banning of used cars. This government under this President, bearing in mind the socio-political environment we operate today, where most people import used cars, this government decided not to ban importation of used cars.

    “The second thing which we have emphasised is to make it easier for those who buy used cars to make sure that we work with the financial institutions to have car purchase scheme in the country, where they can borrow money to buy cars as long as you are working at very reduced interest rate not up to 20 per cent. We are looking at very low interest; we are at advanced stage of negotiating that.

    “We should be proud of the progress we have made since that policy was introduced in October. If we don’t implement this policy, the pressure on the economy of this country will be unbearable because we rely heavily on the importation of cars and this is not what we want to use your foreign exchange for.

    “Today, we spend more than $3 billion every year on importing cars. We spend another $3.2 billion and $3.4 billion importing used cars and spare parts. With every importation, we are creating new jobs in other countries.”

    With the latest news of shifting the imposition of 35 per cent duty on imported cars to January next year, it is hoped that government will really get it right this time round and Nigerians, at the end of the day, are not further impoverished than they are currently.

  • Eaglets hit camp after auto crash

    Eaglets hit camp after auto crash

    : Team intensify prayer for Friday Njengo

    Golden Eaglets Goalkeeper Adamu Abubakar who had bruises on the face and shoulder when he was involved in a car crash alongside teammate Friday Njengo is now back at the team’s camp in Calabar and now under strict medical observation.

    The two players of the U-17 National Team, Golden Eaglets were involved in an auto accident on Sunday, February 3, 2013 while on their way to the team’s camp in Calabar.

    The accident was said to have occurred at Dan Anacha Village in Taraba State when a motorcycle rider suddenly dashed into the road. The driver swerved to avoid hitting the rider but ended up hitting a truck pusher.

    The players were promptly taken to the Federal Medical Centre in Jalingo by their relations. They are said to be responding to treatment.

    “We are happy to have Adamu back on his feet,” said Suleiman Abubakar, the Golden Eaglets coordinator.

    “Our fervent prayer is now for Njengo who is still at the hospital in Abuja, to get better.”

    “We implore Nigerians to be steadfast in their prayers for Njengo as well as the team as we prepare for the forthcoming African Under-17 Championship,” he added.

    The Golden Eaglets qualified for the championship last December after winning its six qualifying matches, and have been drawn against two West African rivals, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and 2011 second runner-up, Congo-Brazzaville at the championship to be held between April 13 and 27 2013 in Morocco.