Stakeholders Divided Over Proposed Import Ban on Used Vehicles

The National Automotive Design and Development Council is proposing a ban on the importation of used vehicles that are more than 20 years old.

This move is intended to prevent the country from being a dumping ground for old cars and to encourage the growth of the local automobile industry.

The Director-General of NADDC, Joseph Osanipin, said the council planned to collaborate with relevant authorities to enforce age limits on used cars and specify minimum standards for imported vehicles.

He explained that the council has started a deletion policy, which is contained in the NAIDP being reviewed because that is the only way local content can grow.

He also noted that the council is looking at the production of tires, plastic, foams, leather, and even car batteries.

He further stated that producing those local components would enable the council and relevant agencies to delete the importation of all items produced locally in the country.

Data from the International Trade Administration of the United States showed that Nigeria’s annual vehicle demand was 720,000 units, while local factories could only produce a fraction, 14,000 units annually, resulting in a substantial shortfall that necessitates imports to meet consumer needs.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in the first nine months of 2023, the country imported used vehicles valued at N926.09bn from the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

The first quarter witnessed used car imports worth N59.53bn, a figure that surged to N721.79bn in the second quarter, only to experience a dip to N144.77bn in the third quarter.

The call to ban the import of used vehicles is not new. The immediate past Controller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Hameed Ali, had proposed a ban on vehicles above seven years when he appeared before the lawmakers for a budget defence session in 2021.

Industry experts argued that such a measure could be the catalyst needed to stimulate local production.

However, others contend that the industry’s vitality relied heavily on the influx of imported vehicles, including damaged ones, which serve as a crucial source of spare parts.