Three made-in-Nigeria Nissan vehicles; Nissan Patrol SUV, Nissan Almera (Sunny) saloon car and a Nissan NP 300 Pick-Up were unveiled by President Goodluck Jonathan on Democracy Day; May 29, 2014 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja. Also present at the unveiling were The First lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo who took the front passenger’s seat after the President sat on the driver’s seat of one of them.
The vehicles were produced at the Stallion Nissan Motors Plant at the Lagos-Badagry Expressway. The facility which was established following the signing of the agreement between Nissan Motor Company and West African conglomerate of the Stallion Group on October 9, 2013 also aims to produce 45,000 vehicles annually.
The Chairman of Stallion Group, Mr. Sunil Vaswani affirmed that the vehicles were of global standards technologically. He also described the government’s automotive policy as a historic step towards industrial and economic rejuvenation.
“We are grateful for implementing this initiative which is part of the Federal Government’s seven point agenda to attract Foreign Direct Investments and emancipate the dormant sectors of the economy. The evolution of automotive manufacturing sector in Nigeria would not only encourage more FDIs but stimulate industrial clusters such as original equipment manufacturers that include steel plants, glass manufacturers, aftermarket shops and transportation service providers leading to job creation and contributing significantly to the GDP. The current population of Nigeria can convincingly support more than half a million vehicles annually which is more than sufficient to sustain an emerging automotive industry.” He added.
