25112022

Vanguard, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2022 — 23
By Theodore Opara
Innoson exports $4.7m
made-in-Nigeria vehicles
to Sierra Leone
THE first batch of
vehicles manufactured for the
government of Sierra Leone by Innoson
Vehicle Manufacturing Ltd.,
IVM, has been delivered to the West
African country by the Nnewi-based
indigenous automaker. The vehicles,
which arrived in Freetown on November
21, 2022, were built to order
by Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Defence.
The request for the made-in-
Nigeria vehicles was made during a
working visit to Innoson Vehicles by
the top hierarchy of the Sierra Leone
Defence Ministry led by Mr. Edward
Soloku, the Minister of Internal Affairs,
as well as the Sierra Leone Road
Transport Corporation, SLRTC, led
by its President, Mr. Isaac Ken-
Green.
Head of Corporate Communications,
Innoson Group, Cornel Osigwe,
said in a statement that various
models of vehicles bought within that
dispensation were for the present
administration. Osigwe explained
that subsequently, the government of
Sierra Leone, led by President Julius
Maada Bio, placed an order for the
manufacturing of Innoson vehicles
valued at $4.7 million for the officers
of the Republic of Sierra Leone
Armed Forces, RSLAF. The first set
of vehicles supplied from Nigeria to
Sierra Leone left on Monday from
Queen Elizabeth 2 Port (Sierra Leone’s
seaport, "Water Quay") in Free
Town for distribution to military officers
across the country.
Reacting to the development, the
people of Sierra Leone have been
commending their president, Julius
Maada Bio, for acting in line with
the spirit of the continental agreement
by opting for an African, IVM,
brand of vehicles for the use of the
country’s armed forces. In one of the
many reports in the local media on
the purchase of the made-in-Nigeria
vehicles, a popular blog in Sierra
Leone, Focus News Blog, hailed President
Bio for believing that "our army
officers deserve better." The post,
which showed a line-up of the IVM
products from Nigeria, informed Sierra
Leoneans that the vehicles would
soon be "ready for distribution to
military officers across the country"
by the government.
Innoson Group has penetrated the
vehicle market over the years. It is
currently serving as one of the few
wholly African car assemblers. One
of the effusive commendations for
President Bio by a Sierra Leonean,
Francis Ken Samu, remarked, "We
are on top of the situation in times of
security. Congratulations, Mr. President
Bio! Keep the military colour
flag flying higher than ever before in
Sierra Leone's history. God bless you,
HE President Bio, for equipping the
RSLAF." This development is indeed
a step towards the acceleration of
intra-African trade, as facilitated by
the implementation of the African
Continental Free Trade Area (AfC-
TA).
Auto industry executive bill ready, says NADDC DG
DIRECTOR-General
of
the National Automotive Design
and Development Council,
NADDC, Mr. Jelani Aliyu, has said
a review of the nation’s auto policy
is ready and will soon be sent to the
National Assembly as an executive
bill for speedy passage and thereafter
forwarded to President Muhammadu
Buhari for assent.
He stated this in Abuja on Wednesday
at the opening of the 22nd edition
of the annual Abuja auto fair.
The policy known as the National
Automotive Industry Development
Plan, NAIDP, which was introduced
in 2014 by the Federal Government
to encourage local assembling of vehicles,
became contentious as Buhari
failed to give his assent even
though the lawmakers had passed
the bill. It was sent back for a review.
Jelani, who also represented the
Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment,
Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo,
said all stakeholders, including relevant
government agencies and private
sector players, were allowed to
make input in the latest review. This
bill now at the Federal Ministry of
Carloha international begins operation in Nigeria
By Willie Samson
CARLOHA, a global
automobile company that
specialises in the sales and services of
premium used vehicles with incommerce
and on-demand
maintenance service technology, has
begun operation in Nigeria. Carloha
International has its global head office
in the USA, owns and manages
several stores and maintenance
centres, with over 200 dedicated
employees that provide
comprehensive car purchase, finance,
and insurance services. Carloha
Nigeria, parades a host of premium
•Toyota cars at the on-going Abuja Motor fair.
Industry, Trade, and Investment will
be going back to the National Assembly
as an executive bill, and it is
expected to receive express passage
and the president’s assent. It is a
holistic review; we’ve asked all
stakeholders to make input.
The NADDC DG said the auto industry
remained crucial to the development
of the nation’s economy,
adding that the agency was on
course with the NAIDP as a tool to
transform the industry, despite its
implementation challenges. Many
•Array of quality Carloha vehicles.
used vehicles in its arsenal of stocks,
and it’s well positioned to be the
leading automobile company in the
used vehicle trading business in
Nigeria.
According to the marketing
manager, Mr. Mathew Enuoma Aje,
"We are in business to set the pace in
sales and services of the used vehicle
segment in Nigeria, by making
vehicle ownership a seamless process
for all customers.“ He further stressed
that Carloha Nigeria, prides itself on
having the best used vehicles of choice
brands that are durable, rugged, and
well refined to suit the tastes of all our
customers. And more so, the class and
automakers, including Toyota and
Volkswagen, have agreed to establish
plants in Nigeria as a result of
their belief in the merits of the auto
industry plan, he claims. According
to him, more than 30,000 Nigerian
youths had been trained in modern
auto technology, just as he disclosed
that 18 auto training centres were
established across the country for
this purpose. He urged Nigerians to
patronise Nigeria-assembled vehicles
to increase job creation and
boost auto business in Nigeria.
state of vehicles we stock are rare and
cannot be sourced elsewhere". The
company collaborates with a wellknown
used car provider in the United
States to select the highest-quality
used cars for Carloha Nigeria,
utilizing big data technology. The
replication of the automated system
is to position Carloha Nigeria as a
viable company that will drive the
world with latest technological
advancements in automobile
engineering and offer bespoke
premium services that cannot be seen
anywhere in sub-Sahara African.
RESPITE has finally come to
Nigerian transporters as Kojo
Motors, representatives of the Yutong
range of buses, are set to introduce compressed
natural gas, CNG-powered
buses at the Abuja Motor Fair scheduled
for the International Conference
Centre annex, Abuja. Compressed natural
gas, CNG, is a natural gas under
pressure that remains clear, odourless
and non-corrosive.
Although vehicles can use natural gas
as either a liquid or a gas, most vehicles
use the gaseous form, compressed to
about 218 kg/cm2.“CNG can be used
as an alternative to conventional petrol
and diesel fuels. The 10-metre CNG
inter-and intra-city commercial passen-
Chairman of the organizing committee
for Abuja auto fair and Managing
Director of BKG Exhibition
Limited, Ifeanyi Agwu, said the annual
event has played a major role
in the development of the nation’s
auto sector and Abuja as a viable
business centre. About 98 percent of
auto companies in Abuja today were
brought into the city through the
motor fair. He bemoaned the government's
long-standing disregard
for the industry, despite its importance
to national economic growth,
stresing: "I don’t know how the auto
companies are able to stay afloat in
the face of a high exchange rate,
among other challenges."
“Products: Carloha Nigeria,
parades a host of quality used vehicles
from notable brands such as
Mercedes-Benz, Toyota (Lexus), Ford,
and Range Rover, which are neatly
selected and well finished to
specifications with state-of-the-art
technology. The automated pricing
system is used to fix the right price for
all used vehicles. The pricing of used
vehicles is a huge algorithmic
challenge to the overall business.
Carloha Nigeria has addressed this
issue by using machine learning
technology to accurately fix the price
of each vehicle in relation to economic
fluctuation and market imbalance in
the local market.
Respite, as Kojo Motors’ Yutong
CNG-powered buses enter Nigeria
ger bus, according to Yutong's manufacturers,
will enter the Nigerian market
with numerous advantages.
CNG is about 50 percent cheaper
than petrol under test conditions (no
congestion, good road condition).
When driving at 24 km/h without air
conditioning, the 100 km gas consumption
is 41 cubic metres. At 32 kilometres
per hour, the gas consumption per
100 kilometres is 31 cubic metres.
With air conditioning on, gas consumption
increases by 10 percent.
"This is experimental data, specific gas
consumption will be affected by road
conditions, congestion, driver’s driving
habits, and so on, we do not promise
gas consumption," the company
said.