The Nation Newspaper

Tag: locally

  • Hyundai unveils locally assembled Sonata

    Hyundai unveils locally assembled Sonata

    Hyundai has unveiled the remodelled midsized Sonata family sedan with standard and accessible features.

    Assembled locally at the Hyundai Motors Nigeria Limited plant in Lagos, the 2018 Sonata equipped with proximity key with push-button start, power driver’s seat as well as shiftronic gear system with courtesy door lamps.

    The car  is also equipped with rear parking sensors/back warning camera, engine immobiliser and perceptible front grill among others.

    Hyundai Motors Nigeria said “It has enhanced the Sonata’s package with better value proposition to keep it fresh against increasing competent rivals.”

    Its Head of Sales and Marketing, Gaurav Vashisht told auto reporters at the launch of the new Sonata that almost every exterior element of the car has been reworked, beginning from the forward A-pillars.

    “Unlike its predecessor, the front end of the car for instance, has become more muscular, blending with Hyundai’s new cascading grille design with an aggressive lower facia, new headlights and a reshaped hood,” Vashisht explained.

    He said Hyundai has also thoroughly reworked the rear side, which now incorporates new trunked-lid, taillights and rear bumper with a marginally adapted interior that plagiarizes high-end cars’ centre stack though retaining its intuitive layout knobs and controls of higher quality feel and a new three-spoke steering wheel.

    “When it comes to delivering everything you would expect from a midsize family sedan, the 2018 Hyundai Sonata does not disappoint. It has a spacious interior with worthy seats and a long list of standard features and well-laid out controls that reassures on smooth ride,” he added.

    The 2018 Hyundai Sonata, he said, is available in six trim levels, but only the Elite SE 2.0L and Elite SE 2.4L variants, which are already in designated HMNL showrooms, will be marketed locally.

    Standard features on both models include front wheel drive, a rear lip spoiler, cruise control, full power accessories, tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, automatic control/rear air-conditioning vents, luxury leather seats and a 60/40 split-folding seatback.

    Technology features however include Bluetooth connectivity, a CD player, radio, automatic headlights, rearview camera, a five-inch LCD display, USB port and an auxiliary audio input and Hyundai Security System.

    While both variants are powered by a four-cylinder engine; the 2.0-Litre variant is mated to a 157ps @ 6200rpm and the 2.4-Litre is fused to a 171ps @ 6000rpm. Both models are however, paired to a six-speed automatic transmission that raises the EPA fuel economy numbers to 23mpg highway from 22/31mpg.

    The SE 2.0-Litre model is on the other hand, mounted on a 17″ Alloy wheels while the SE 2.4-Litre seats on 18″ Alloy wheels.

    Hyundai in its typical interior design precision leaves no one in doubt as it ingeniously detailed the Sonata’s cabin. The materials and built quality for instance are at par with the class, donning plusher door trim, well-padded and supportive leather seats with additional cabin accents for a more premium feel.

  • Kachikwu: Nigeria must produce fuel locally

    Kachikwu: Nigeria must produce fuel locally

    The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachukwu, yesterday lamented that Nigeria is the only oil producer struggling with the importation of refined petroleum products. The situation is a complete embarrassment, he said.

    Kachukwu, who spoke at the fifth Triennial National Delegates Conference of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) in Abuja, also said it was shameful  that despite its huge resources, Nigeria continued to grapple with epileptic power supply.

    He said Nigeria should be able to produce enough petroleum products to meet domestic needs, pointing out that changing times in the industry suggest that the country must look for ways of ensuring efficient management of the refineries and make them productive or lose them and the job opportunities it offers.

    He said the nation’s future lies in gas, adding that at best, the nation’s oil reserve will last for between 25 and 39 years. The gas reserve will last for over 60 years.

    He said: “For me, the whole idea of continuing importation of petroleum products in this country is a shame. We are the only one, when we go for OPEC meetings, that are still struggling about how to import petroleum products when we should be able to produce even if it is only the petroleum products that we need in this country.

    “We need to find anything that will help us to do that and I encourage you to collaboratively work with us as we get into this. Once that happens, it is going to open a whole vista of opportunities in marketing, midstream performances, opportunities in infrastructure along pipeline.

    “I urge you to take the solidarity that you have and you sing so passionately about away from just fighting issues of staff welfare and move into issues of staff investments. I need to see you participate in the value chain. Some of you are some of the best brains there are in the industry and you know where the issues are and where to create new investments.”

    On epileptic power in the country, he said: “It is a shame that a country with such massive resources will continue to be epileptic in power supply. I go to Ghana sometimes and I am ashamed that we supply some of the gas. At least in Accra, and most of the major cities, power is 24 hours. In Ivory Coast, despite the problems they have in terms of power costing, there is 24 hours supply.

    “There is no absolute reason why this country cannot move from this decadent practice of explaining inefficiency to a new horizon where visibility are grandiose. I am committed to working with the power ministry and every Nigerian to move the transformative journey from one point to another, from the point excuses to the point of absolute final delivery.”

    Kachikwu said further that “the reality is that the oil industry is changing almost transformatively. Prices have tumbled and have continued to struggle despite all the works we have done in OPEC to boost it. The reality is that investments are declining at an alarming rate and suddenly, there are new entrants into the industry.

  • Shoprite Nigeria procures 76% of products sold locally

    Shoprite Nigeria procures 76% of products sold locally

    It’s been a little more than 10 years since Shoprite was launched in Nigeria with the opening of its first store in Lagos in December 2005. Today 99.5percent of the supermarket chain’s 2230 employees are Nigerians and 76 percent of all products sold are procured locally.

    Shoprite’s commitment to support local enterprise means the supermarket chain has developed relationships with approximately 300 leading Nigerian suppliers and small businesses.

    “It is one thing to farm vegetables, but having the right channels in place to reach consumers is equally important,” commented Dr Folashade Disu, CEO of Batfol Farms in Lagos. “This is where Shoprite plays a major role. As the supermarket chain has been increasing its footprint in Nigeria, so too Batfol Farms have been growing its capacity in order to continue meeting the demand for our produce.”

    Mr Samuel Adedeji, Supervisor for feed millsat Fresh Country Chicken in Kwara, echoes these sentiments. “Thanks to unprecedented growth levels since becoming a Shoprite supplier, Fresh Country Chicken started an outgrower programme. Local community farmers are supplied with seed, maize fertilisers and herbicides, Fresh Country Chicken then buys back the maize at market rates after input deductions.”

    Shoprite Nigeria introduced the country to a world class shopping experience through its core business promise of lower prices. Having recently opened its 16th Shoprite store in Nigeria, the supermarket chain remains firmly committed to supporting local farmers through mutually beneficial business relationships.

  • Military hardware to be produced locally

    The Federal Government has concluded plans to localise production of the country’s military hardware.

    Vice-President Namadi Sambo said the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) would be positioned to handle the hardware needs of the Armed Forces, paramilitary services and the police.

    He spoke yesterday during the Presidential Committee meeting on the Review of the Structure, Operation and Activities of DICON, which he chaired in his office at the State House, Abuja.

    He said the committee was expected to come up with a framework that would ensure that DICON meets the objectives of its founding fathers–local production of the needs of the country’s security forces.