By Moses Ebosele, ebosele@hotmail.com —
As stakeholders in Nigeria awaits presidential assent for National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP), the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Kia Motors Nigeria, Mr Jacky Hathiramani has called on the Federal Government to provide a veritable platform for the growth of the industry.
In a statement sent to City BusinessNews, (www.citybusinessnews.com), the Kia Motors Nigeria boss joined other stakeholders to call for the government’s support as part of measures for the sustainable growth of the industry.
He said: “With the establishment of many automobile assembling plants, heavily funded by private establishments, employment avenues are expanding in the fields of automotive technology and distribution of automobiles in the country.
“Increase in the production of commercial vehicles/ passengers’ cars, automobile sector can expect to have a wide range of opportunities both for wage paid and self-employment ventures in the coming years. In fact, the automobile industry is arguably positioned as the barometer of the economic and social transformation taking place in the country. It is one of the major sources of employment and is likely to generate employment for thousands of new hands directly and indirectly, in the near future” said, Jacky.
Today, as a key contributor to the manufacturing sector of the economy, the auto industry according to him, together with other manufacturing companies’ annual contribution is 9.20 percent to the country’s GDP.
He stressed that the automobile companies have opened up numerous opportunities for persons with an automobile engineering, mechanical engineering and technical diplomas in this area.
He further stated that “the automobile industry across the globe has always played a major role in strengthening the global economy by contributing immensely to the growth of the GDP and the creation of employment to teeming youths.
According to the statement, Nigeria, as a country, despite being a huge market in Africa with a booming population of over 170 million people, is yet to fully actualize the potentials of the automobile industry owing to the non-patronage of government agencies, the thirst of government officials for imported new cars and the overwhelming influx of imported used cars turning the country into a dumping ground and one of the leading collectors of junk aged cars.
He explained that Nigeria is sitting on a gold mine that can fill the void of unemployment and diversified economy.
Part of the statement quoted him s saying “When new cars are produced in Nigeria, the local production will grow and have a direct impact on the GDP. This will, in turn, provide large-scale employment, increase the internally generated revenue for the government and help in diversifying the economy amongst other gains. The automobile industry has remained one of the highest contributors to the global economy and serves as a fulcrum for the industrialization of countries in the world over. Government’s support by way of patronage and sustainable policy framework will usher in a systemic and holistic structural development of the automobile industry in Nigeria”
On how well Kia is positioned for contributing to the industrialization of the economy, Jacky pointed out that the company’s “strategic business propositions have over the years distinguished itself in the industry on providing exceptional customer service hinged on tailored business operations to meet the ever-increasing demands of customers. The unflinching resolve to provide outstanding offerings and exceptional customer-focused after-sales services have always reinforced customers’ confidence in the Kia brand”.
