‘Auto review will address poor communication challenges’

Federal Ministry of Trade, Industry and Investment, said the planned review of the National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP), will address challenges, particularly the lack of coordination among the different government agencies involved in the implementation of the plan.

Results of the policy, introduced in October 2013, to encourage local manufacturing of vehicles and discourage importation of cars as well as gradually phase out used cars popularly known as, Tokunbo cars, would soon become feasible, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment , Okechukwu Enelamah, said in Lagos.

According to him, the plan encountered additional challenges because of the current economic challenges.

“For instance, many of them (players) need more foreign exchange to bring in more of their parts and other things they need. What the consumers also are able to buy is beginning to change in some ways, that also reflect the economic time we are,” the miniser said.

“We are in discussion with both the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Ministry of Finance, to make sure that the tariff and the incentives we have are general.”

“This is a matter of working together in a coordinated way to make sure that what NCS is doing and what we are doing are consistent. And I believe that we would get there because we are already in dialogue with NCS and Ministry of Finance,” Enelamah.

Stakeholders in the sector had said the review, which was announced few months a ago was taking too long time thereby hindering them to plan accurately.

Besides, the assemblers and manufacturers had also urged government to formulate policies that would tighten land borders, as part of efforts to protect their investment and protect the made in Nigeria automobile sector.

This is coming as the NCS indicted some of the operators for abusing concessionary duty rate by importing different brands against the ones approved, adding that some were also guilty of importing above the quantity approved by taking advantage of gaps created in the policy review of 2009.