By Stanley Onyekwere
Nigeria’s automaker, Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) Limited, has reiterated commitment to revalidate and restart its plant in Kaduna state, and start test assembling operations by June, this year.
Disclosing this yesterday in Abuja, PAN’s Managing Director, Ibrahim Boyi, said the company has been working with its foreign Technical Partner, Automobile Peugeot France (AP France), to restart the factory and resume vehicles assembling operations and maximize their benefit under the new Nigeria’s auto policy.
Speaking when he led some AP France top officials on a courtesy visit to the office of the minister of state for Trade and Investment, Dr. Samuel Ortom, further disclosed that AP France has provided PAN, with all the technical support that it required to start the plant and test run of its product in June.
According to him, “Our vehicles are safe and made for the Nigerian roads, and we have full back up support for the vehicles, because they are going to be assembled and maintained here by Nigerians and for Nigerians.”
He added that the current PAN’s plant capacity is quite significant to restart assembling and production of quality vehicles in the country.
On the measures the company is taking to reposition the Peugeot brand in Nigeria, considering her existing automobile market, he said PAN is introducing very competitive vehicles made for the Nigerian roads that can compete with any other brand.
On his part, the Vice President of AP France, Yves Moulin, said the motivation behind company’s renewed partnership with PAN was obvious, given that Nigeria is the number one and fastest growing economy in Africa; the country has a huge and young population, which will continue expanding for many years.
He added that Nigeria’s automobile policy is good, because it could be compared with that of other countries in the world, which is the right way to create jobs and added value to the country.
He added that, although it would take some time to assemble, build and integrate cars locally in the country, but if stakeholders work together and consist we will be able to achieve it.”
Responding, the minister, said the development shows that the President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda is working and the auto policy in the industrial revolution plan is actually working.
He says: “We are confident it will happen. We have been to the factory; we have seen the equipment and I’m sure that they will launch their product as scheduled.”
