CFAO Yamaha opens motorcycle plant in Nigeria

This year’s Lagos International Trade Fair have come and gone, but in years to come, Yamaha motorcycle manufacturers in Japan and the CFAO Group in Nigeria under the umbrella of CFAO France surely have something to celebrate.

It was a period when CFAO Yamaha Motor Nigeria Limited (CYMNG), represented by Olivier Levigne, the managing director and Hisashi Fujii, the deputy managing director who also doubles as the deputy managing director informed the motoring journalists of commencement of the first pilot phase of its Crux and Force X motorcycle models local assembly for the Nigerian market.  This joint venture represents Yamaha Motor’s second foray into the Nigerian market.

Recall at Yamaha Motor Co announced that it has formed a joint agreement with CFAO Group to set up a motorcycle manufacturing and sales company in Nigeria. Factory operation and commencement was scheduled to commence in mid-2015.

The new company named CFAO Yamaha Motor Nigeria Ltd. (CYMNG), and Yamaha Motor and CFAO (a French company, specialized in distribution of major international brands in Africa in the Toyota Tsusho Group) are to make equal investment contributions toward a start-up capital .

The managing director of CFAO Yamaha Motor Nigeria Limited, Olivier Levigne said the announcement of take-off of motorcycle assembly operations in Lagos by the company has put the rest that long period of waiting and speculations by the general public who are anxiously waiting for the eventual return of their popular Yamaha motorcycle brand adding that the CFAO Yamaha has now come together to form a team to take the brand to high levels.

On his part, Hisashi Fujii, the deputy managing director remarked that the company waited very long for its product to enter the local market, but regretted that for many years gone-by, Yamaha was not so active in Nigerian market for so long.

He regretted that for 10 years, Yamaha did not have a product, but now Yamaha is back in the Nigerian market to deliver quality, attractive products made up of many product lines, city traffic out rider machines and Okada models for commercial purposes.

Other models of motorcycles are the ladies and sports bike including Yamaha outboard engines to service the transport and fishery activities in the marine category and other Yamaha four wheels drive trucks and all-terrain vehicles.

The Yamaha product lines are economical to maintain with assorted branded original, genuine 4-stroke lubricants that helps maintain the motorcycles longevity including spare parts that gives buyers lots of economic benefit and value for money.

He added that the Yamaha also have on display a race bike. The brand emerged the manufacturer champion, rider champion and champion team in Valentia, Spain and coming tops in motor grand prix. On why Yamaha returned back to Nigeria, he explained that, the re-entry was because; the Nigerian market potential is quite huge.

Oscar O. Odiboh, managing director of Newsletters Limited, media consult to CFAO Yamaha said, the trade fair revealed that the Lagos trade fair provides an opportunity when products are appearing for the first time and on the Yamaha stand such as the amphibious, all terrain vehicles and quality lubricants including presidential outrider power bike.

The CYMNG factory, which is to cover an area of 2,790 square metres, is sitting on a constructed site owned by CFAO in Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city. The factory has a production target of 70,000 motorcycles by 2018, the final year in the next medium-term plan.

In 1980, Yamaha Motor established a motorcycle factory in Nigeria that carried out manufacture and sale of motorcycles; however, in 2005, it pulled out of production at the factory due to a decline in the market, and has since been selling motorcycles imported from Japan or India through local dealerships.

Nigeria population is currently 170 million, and explosive population growth and economy has contributed to growth of the motorcycle market to reach 1.3 million units in 2013.

Moreover, the market is anticipated to grow in scale to 1.8 million units by 2020 as individual demand increases to supplement use of taxis, which currently accounts for 70 percent of demand.

The setting up of a new company marks Yamaha Motor’s re-entry into Nigeria, which is market with the greatest motorcycle demand in Africa and represents a step toward the realization of business scale expansion, a goal of the new medium-term plan.