In a statement, Ford’s sub-Sahara chief executive, Jeff Nemeth said: “The facility will accommodate one shift and will produce an initial 10 units per day for the Nigerian market, creating approximately 180 direct and indirect jobs.”
In August 2015 the company announced it would start assembling of Ford trucks in Nigeria to expand their market looking at Africa as a young market and Nigeria being the most populated nation on the continent
The President/CEO of Ford Motor Company, sub-Saharan Africa, Jeff Nemeth had said: “Nigeria is a priority market for us in sub-Saharan Africa. Depending on how Nigeria develops over time, we are potentially looking at using our Nigerian plant to service West Africa,” he told Reuters news agency on Tuesday.
He added that, “The auto market in Nigeria has huge potential but retails only a small amount of new vehicles annually.”
According to him, “The sector is dominated by imported used vehicles, while limited financing for consumers to buy new vehicles and the absence of an industrial policy that would encourage suppliers to set up in Nigeria have stunted growth.”
The plant located in Ikeja, Lagos will assemble the Ford Ranger using parts and components imported from South Africa. The plant will have the capacity to assemble up to 5,000 units annually, which will be sold in Nigeria.
Ford's SKD operation in Nigeria was established in partnership with the local Ford dealer group, Coscharis Motors Limited, and is based in Ikeja.
Mr. Cosmas Maduka, President of Coscharis Motors, had this to say: “We have worked
hard and moved quickly to turn this dream into a reality. Today marks
an important milestone when the cogs in the wheel really start to turn,
not only for Ford in Nigeria, but in general for the Nigerian industry,
which is receiving a much needed boost towards industrialization and the
development of the automotive industry.
“We are committed to setting the bar high, and establishing
world-class, best practices in Nigeria that every other industrialist
will have to be judged by. This is a major milestone for us and marks
another first in the evolution of our company.”
Nigeria is a significant market for Ford’s sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
region and accounts for a solid percentage of the regional sales, and is
the reason Ford is committed to increasing market share in Nigeria, and
other key African markets in the future.
This is good news for us all, aside the good economic values it would add to Nigeria, it would also create a platform for Engineers and every other technology personnel in Nigeria to have an opportunity to display their abilities and intelligence, Thank you Ford.
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