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South Africa’s automotive component manufacturers, operating under the aegis of National Association of Automotive Components and Allied Manufacturers (NAACAM), have restated their determination to support automotive manufacturing in Africa with initial focus on Nigeria, Kenya, Algeria and Ethiopia.
Representatives of NAACAM who paid a visit to Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos and the nation’s capital, Abuja, last week, restated their determination and willingness to explore investment potential in the country’s automotive sector.
The visiting NAACAM officials expressed their determination to explore the Nigerian market at meetings held with principal directors of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) and other stakeholders.
Dave Coffey, Managing Director, Shatterprufe, who is also the President, NAACAM, led the four-man NAACAM delegation to Nigeria.
Speaking at a meeting with NADDC directors and other stakeholders, Coffey said: “We see a journey taking place in the country’s automotive programme and we’ve got a number of component manufacturers working under the banner of African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) willing to come to Nigeria to partner and invest.”
The NAACAM President said their visit was a follow-up to a similar trip made to Nigeria in August 2016 by the Jeff Nemeth-led Association of African Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) which met with Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, top government functionaries and relevant agencies, including representatives of the National Automotive Manufacturers Association (NAMA).
Outside South Africa, which has a well-developed world-class automotive industry, Nigeria is recognised as a strategic market over the long term due to its demographics even though certain indices haven’t yet been remedied.
Coffey, who feels strongly about these indices, said new vehicle volume can only grow if there is an affordable solution even as he stressed that this does not only repose in the manufacturing of reasonably-priced vehicles but also in creating access to attractive vehicle finance whilst managing and constraining the importation of second-hand vehicles in a balanced and appropriate manner.
“Our ultimate objective is to grow with the Nigerian market and essentially work out the right economies of scale and technology to get the industry where it deserves to be. We are not here just to trade but to explore other suppliers and partner with producers with current equipment.” Coffey said.
Maintaining that component manufacturing is a fundamental subsidiary of automotive manufacturing, Coffey said: “As component manufacturers, we don’t have to wait for legislation to register our presence in a country with huge potential as Nigeria, hence the reason why we think the time to enter this market is now and we are here to partner local manufacturers, add value, supply the local aftermarket needs and position ourselves to support the growth of new vehicle production.”
He added that the biggest multiplier effect of automotive manufacturing comes with component manufacturing, saying “the more you localise, the higher the number of jobs created, and the deeper you go downstream, the more jobs you create.”
Citing a windscreen manufacturing concern for example, Coffey conjectured that for every 200, 000 windscreens produced, no fewer than 150 to 200 workers are employed and in the shocks absorber and struts factory, about 250 people are hired when approximately, one million shocks are produced annually.
The three other NAACAM delegates who came on the trip with Coffey are Gabriel South Africa Engineering Manager, Roux Coetzee; Caravelle Automotive Carpets General Manager, Kobus Oosthuysen; and Cool Refrigeration Parts producer, Michael Frankenfeld.
A subsidiary of the PG Group, Shatterprufe is South Africa – based glass and armored-plate manufacturers since 1935, while Caravelle Automotive Carpets is a member of the KAP Automotive (Pty) Ltd. that specialises in the manufacture of interior trims as well as overlay car carpets, using fine gauge nylon tufted and high quality polyester.
However, Cape Town-based Gabriel Tore Parts and Components manufactures branded shock absorbers, MacPherson Struts, strut cartridges and Gabriel patented gas springs just as Cool Refrigeration Parts is renowned in transport refrigeration.
I am a great enthusiast of manufacturing new cars and all the components in Nigeria
Hi Olanrewaju!
It’s great to know that you are an advocate of made-in Nigeria vehicles.
We hope our government will create the enabling environment for this to happen soon.
Let’s keep the conversation going.
Thanks.
Auto Report Africa.