USED VEHICLES FROM U.S & JAPAN FLOODS NIGERIA MARKET

New vehicles on display

With the inauguration of new governments in some states of the federation, dealers of brand new vehicles expect their business to pick up in the coming months, Despite this, the used vehicle market still flourishes.



Car dealers have placed fresh orders for new and old models from manufacturers in anticipation of higher demand under the new administration.

Imported used vehicles have also continued to flood the Nigerian automobile market since the age limit was raised by the Federal Government last November from 10 years to 15 years.

An investigation by our correspondent showed that about 27, 918 vehicles were imported in May, going by the figures released by the Nigerian Ports Authority through its latest daily shipping positions.

The figure is over 100 per cent higher than the estimated 13,000 vehicles, which were imported in April.

A breakdown of the imported vehicles in May showed that only 5,420 were new, while 22,498 were used vehicles otherwise called tokunbo.

The 27,918 vehicles came in through the Lagos ports, according to the NPA.

Despite the different crises that befell it lately, which analysts feel are capable of threatening its business in 2011, Toyota Nigeria Limited is hopeful of surpassing its sales figure of last year by 2,000 vehicles.

Toyota’s massive recalls of some models towards the end of last year were still generating furore, when a tsunami and earthquake swept through a number of its factories in Japan, forcing it and other manufacturers to temporarily suspend production of new vehicles.

But the Managing Director, TNL, Mr. Chadra Thampy, said the firm, which sold about 15,000 vehicles in 2010, was targeting 17,000 units this year.

The 17,000 vehicles represent Toyota’s share of the estimated 58,000 new vehicle units projected for sale in 2011 in Nigeria.

A total of 42,500 new vehicles were reportedly sold in the country last year, representing just a quarter of the used vehicles imported through the Lagos ports.

Thampy hinged the expected increase on the prospect that elected politicians would vote for new cars.

He said that, though the company had projected selling about 14,500 vehicles in 2010 when there was no election, it exceeded the target by 500 units a few days to the end of the year.

“A new set of leaders have emerged this year and one expects that there will be new policies that will help the economy,” he had said earlier in the year.

Three Renault products were introduced to the Nigerian market last month in anticipation of a rejuvenated brand new car market after the general elections, which were expected to usher in many new leaders.

The Marketing Manager, CFAO Group, Mr. Harpreet Arora, said the three tropical models, the Duster, new Logan and Logan MCV, coming into the country through Alliance Autos, were the first batch of six new Renault vehicles for the Nigerian market this year.

Hyundai Motors Nigeria Limited also confirmed that the new car industry was already on a healthy climb with the reported success of the 2012 Hyundai Accent shortly after its introduction.

The Marketing Director, Hyundai Motors, Mr. Kiran Parab, said that the company was confident of selling 400 units in one month.

His confidence, he stressed, stemmed from the record sale of 50 units of the new car in just four days after they were delivered to them from Korea.

Hyra Motors, another auto firm, which sells low-budget Chinese cars, has introduced two new products to the Nigerian market this year. The Brilliance FSV came in January, while Geely Panda was unveiled the following month.

The Managing Director, Hyra Motors, Mr. Oluseyi Oyinlola, said the firm also planned to introduce more products in the months ahead, including some in the commercial range.

The Public Relations Manager, Briscoford, Mr. Felix Adesoye, also said that, aside from new political leaders, top executives of new and old firms that would be revived by the friends and associates of the new leaders were also expected to go for new vehicles. With the passage of the 2011 budget, he also said that more money would be available in different sectors of the economy and would hopefully prop up the demand for new cars among the players.

The General Manager, Mitsubishi, CFAO Group, Mr. Naavin Chander, whose company introduced the 2011 Mitsubishi ASX last month, said although the year started on a drowsy note for the new automobile market, it was gradually turning out as gratifying.

He noted that many commercial banks, which used to be major buyers of new vehicles, apart from government agencies, suddenly withdrew from the market because of the reform regime introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Banks’ facilities to firms and individuals for new vehicles also became scarce, just as many banks abandoned the new car finance scheme they introduced some years ago.

Investigation also showed that tokunbo vehicles were still enjoying high patronage and their dealers were being encouraged to increase their orders after the increase in age limit for used vehicles was announced last November.

For instance, from Thursday’s shipping position, 1,300 new vehicles were listed for delivery at the Lagos ports, whereas 4,040 used vehicles were either already delivered or being awaited.

This trend had been observed in the shipping position in the last two months.

Some old and new cars are also being brought into the country, albeit illegally, through many land routes and sea ports of neighbouring countries.

I AM STEPPING ASIDE NOT BOWING OUT. says Alao Akala

Former governor of Oyo State, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, said on Saturday that he had not lost anything, but was rather “stepping aside from governance.”

Alao-Akala stated this at the Government House, Ibadan, while speaking during a farewell dinner organised for him by the state government.

“I will never forget the people of Oyo State. My administration touched all sectors of the state economy,” he said.

He wished the incoming administration of Abiola Ajimobi of the Action Congress of Nigeria well.

He reiterated that his government did not borrow any money, saying, “We are debt free.”

“But we owe some contractors. The state government has money to pay them if only the incoming government will pay them.”

AMOSUN'S WONDER ATTIRE

The newly inaugurated Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, on Sunday justified his decision to wear a 70-year-old outfit for his inauguration.

Amosun described the outfit as symbolic.

He disclosed that the attire was given to his father by his grandfather in 1941, adding that his father, however, gave him the same set of clothes as a present about 41 years ago.

“The clothes I have on today were given to my Dad in 1941. The attire is older than me and what we are trying to do is symbolic. It is to preserve our value, to preserve our heritage. Nobody ever knew that today would come to pass,” the new governor stated.

AN ADVICE FOR MR PRESIDENT

A word for Mr. President

Yesterday, President Goodluck Jonathan became the fourth elected civilian President of Nigeria since independence in 1960. Though I’m usually reluctant to refer to May 29 as Nigeria’s Democracy Day, Jonathan’s inauguration was a significant event in the history of the country. The elections that gave birth to this year’s May 29 celebrations were adjudged free and fair by local and international observers and this gives the hope that, finally, Nigeria may be on the much-awaited path to palpable growth.

More importantly, the day also marked the beginning of real work for the young Jonathan administration. Though, he had been there for about a year as President, his pre-elections stint at Aso Rock was apparently to solidify his political base and prepare the grounds for real presidency. It was, as observed, a period to call every monkey a king to garner the needed support for a return.

But now that the deal has been sealed and Jonathan has emerged the people’s President, he must, as a matter of urgency, cut growth-inhibiting political ties as the first step to serving the interests of those who elected him. But to do that, he must take some time to learn from great leaders, like Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, that he must remain resolute in decision making even if it means crushing the toes of overbearing godfathers.

In his determination to transform Singapore, a third world Island that did not have its own power or even drinking water, into an international business hub, Lee ignored the complaints of those who called him an autocrat. He did what he thought was right, as long as it was in the interest of the economy.

One law that people usually cited as an example of how autocratic Lee’s rule was, was the chewing gum ban that was enacted in the country in 1992. Visitors, no matter their colour, knew at the time, that they could not chew gum in that country and walk away. And why was chewing gum banned? Because people used to litter everywhere by sticking them under tables and chairs! Some had called that action petty, but I would say that it was a reflection of the “no-nonsense” regime he planned to sail the country through troubled waters.

The first learning point for Jonathan is that Lee, the first prime minister of Singapore, could not be misled or intimidated to abandon a policy that had been proved to be in the interest of the country’s economy. In a September 25, 2003 assessment of Lee as a leader, Asia Times quoted him as saying that if he found an obstacle in the way of a policy or goal he thought needed to be achieved, he would not “hesitate to use a bulldozer to clear the way”. “Anybody, who decides to take me on needs to put on knuckledusters. If you think you can hurt me more than I can hurt you, try,” Lee would say.

And when asked to defend his leadership style, he was always quick to say that he must be tough because Singapore, as a poor country, required firm leadership to produce the needed economic stability, which sceptics felt was unattainable. But he did not stop at that.

Realising that there must be continuity of dedicated and informed leadership to sustain the Singaporean success, he selected and trained intelligent young leaders to take over from where he stopped in 1990.

Beyond this, another key learning point for Nigeria’s new President is that Lee built a fantastic economic team around himself to break the old Singaporean poverty plague, under a regime that had no place for corruption.

While announcing Lee’s decision to quit the cabinet as “Minister Mentor” on May 15, 2011, the Satay Club, Singapore’s popular online news medium, said, “Lee Kuan Yew leaves behind a culture that prizes meritocracy and has no tolerance for corruption. He introduced legislation to strengthen the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, and more controversially, proposed, in 1994, that the salaries of ministers and top civil servants should be linked to top professionals in the private sector to maintain a clean and honest government.”

Because his efforts were genuine, they were not in vain. The 2011 Corruption Perception Index, compiled by Transparency International, rated Singapore the least corrupt country in the world. The country’s economic indices are as excellent. Currently, unemployment rate in Singapore is only slightly above two per cent, while the country was rated the fastest growing economy in the first half of 2010 with an impressive growth rate of 17.9 per cent.

Back home, the virtual break down of law and order after former President Olusegun Obasanjo left the scene reveals the need for this kind of domineering rule in Nigeria’s quest for sustainable growth.

OBJ might have, along the line, committed some political blunders, grave enough to hang him. But one cannot take away the fact that he was firm enough to push the right policies through at the right time, through his dogged support for his second term “star” disciples.

Under him, the National Assembly was not as unruly as it is today, the fear of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission became the beginning of wisdom for public officials and the economy recorded modest gains. Like Lee, OBJ would not hesitate “to clear the way with a bulldozer” if he must push a policy through. Though this might not have been particularly palatable, it scored some good points.

For instance, at the time OBJ appointed Nuhu Ribadu to head the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nigeria was the most corrupt country in the world, according to Transparency International. But the daring anti-corruption crusade, which hung political heavyweights out to dry without apology, moved the country six places up the TI ladder within two years, and served as the icing on the efforts of the cabinet’s stars.

For Jonathan, his regime has started on a good footing and should, ordinarily, produce better results. But since success does not come on a platter of gold, the President must begin his journey by recognising that he does not have to repay “godfathers” with political appointments. It is a good thing that people have said he is a listening President, but he cannot afford to listen to every sycophant, lest he run the economy into a ditch.

In a few days, Jonathan will take his first important step. He will name those he has chosen to drive the economy. I may not have a candidate for Mr. President, but I do know that Nigerians would be disappointed to see the names of the same old, tired hands that have continued to commit the same economic blunders.

The people have demonstrated, using their votes, that this country is not the property of a few opportunists that are being rotated around “juicy” posts. The President should, therefore, sacrifice all the “dropouts” on the Peoples Democratic Party’s list for a winning team. Like Lee, he needs the best of the pack to wake the economy from slumber. This is no time for tired legs!