Kewalram inaugurates auto assembly hub in Nigeria
In compliance with the ongoing new automotive policy introduced by the past former president Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, the Kewalram Chanrai group last week in Lagos commissioned its Automobile Manufacturing cited along the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway. The new assembly facility will be rolled out the first Foton Daimler Auman truck locally assembled in Nigeria under the SKD programme.
The automobile assembly hub located inside the Afprint complex, Isolo Lagos owned by the Kewalram Chanrai group covers an estimated 10,000 sq meters of covered area with more than 6,000 sq meters of open area for road tests and off-loading of SKD kits for kinds of vehicles under its umbrella.
A top management team of Kewalram Chanrai group told invited guests including motoring journalists, representatives from the National Automotive Design, Development Council (NADDC) led by Luqman Mamudu, Deputy Director, Policy and Planning and customers that the facility has three separate sections for assembly of vehicles.
When fully operational with the passage of time and increase in demand by the buying public, it will have the capacity to assemble light, medium and heavy duty trucks. There is also a section for the assembly that will manufacture cars, Pick-up trucks and mini buses including assembly zones for two and three wheelers.
Kewalram’s group deputy managing director, Victor Eburajolo, disclosed that part of the company’s plan also include yearly production of 120,000 Indian leading Hero motorcycle brand.
Speaking with journalists shortly before a tour of the automobile assembly plant, Eburajolo said the company has engaged 100 skilled Nigerian employees to work in the plant, noting that this is capable of creating about 500 indirect jobs at this early stage.
The conglomerates group DMD said that Kewalram is partnering Daimler, maker of the Mercedes Benz to bring the best quality to the Nigerian automobile market. The local assembler is at the moment doing only one shift, which is about 60 percent of the full capacity of the plant.
“We are starting with Foton trucks. We are also including buses and of course Isuzu. Isuzu is not new in this country. We have entered into agreement with General Motors to assemble Chevrolet brand and we also signed agreement to assemble 3-wheelers and 2-wheelers. If necessary, as demand increases, we can do three shifts. We are target four lines and for starting we are employing about 100 direct skilled employees.” He said.
Luqman Mamudu of the NADDC told journalists that the National Automotive Policy was designed in such a way that it would encourage patronage of made-in-Nigeria vehicles. He disagreed with the general impression that locally assembled vehicles are costlier.
He argued that with the huge rebate for knocked down parts, there was no way vehicles assembled locally would be costlier than imported ones of same brand, model and specifications. “Vehicles imported are heavily levied but the local manufacturers are allowed to pay only 10 per cent on the knocked down parts used for assembling locally.” He noted.
The moment a company registers as the an auto assembler, NADDC sends its name to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to ensure ease in procuring knocked down parts.
“It is not true that price of locally made are costlier. We have made it in such a way that if you assemble one, you can bring in two, but we encourage them to produce more. We are trying to get component manufacturers because assembling is like a precursor of real manufacturing.” The NADDC official concluded.
MIKE OCHONMA