sambos994:


Again with Biafra...he wasn't talking about Igbos....

madridsta007:

Are you hurt?

sambos994:

No. not really. As for the article.....this is a step forward in the right direction.

veraponpo: This is good but the caption is misleading. Before Innoson, Nigeria has Peugeot Nigeria Ltd in Kaduna since 1970's and has been asembling cars for Nigerians and govts. But it is a laudable idea. Kudos.

nanaboi: I wonder how the said plant runs considering our power issues here. What we need from government is not their verbal support, but LIGHT.

Without light, Nigeria will NEVER do well in production or manufacturing of any sort. Several companies that tried before are like ancient tombstones now. People import coz it's easier to trade here than it is to produce anything.

akigbemaru: This is not a factory to manufacture cars, this is a warehouse! I have seen it and it does not look anything like car manufacturing plants I have seen before. Nigeria can manufacture cars but we are too gullible to fall for the trick of Oyinbo man. All we have got to do is, stop the importation of cars and consult any foreigner car manufacture, but a franchise and give them our own brand of car with African or Nigerian names, all they have got to support us with is the dashboards for all the cars we are making. That is how is done oversea. If US for instance manufactures BMW, IT DOES not have permission to make the dashboard by itself. We just got to consult the Japanese to build those robots that weld anything iron on cars. From every dashboard the mother car company supply, they have their own percentage and that is to guarantee them how many cars are we producing. This will ease the stress of shipping foreign cars and import duties.

7lives: This Innoson guy should be appreciated and encouraged, this is a massive achievement.
There is hope for Africa after all, with the much needed patronage and support, this auto assembly will metamorphosize into an auto plant, the likes of Ford in few years, in fact this is how Ford started.

ROSSIKE: There's no reason why INNOSON should not be a major player in the global auto industry, on a par with the likes of Toyota, Honda, and GM over the next decade or two. Primary focus should be the African market, which is more than ripe for a dynamic new entrant into its auto market, providing well-priced, reliable vehicles. R& (research and development) should also be heavily invested in within the firm, with the aim being to further drive down prices without compromising quality, and corner the African market. But the key to all this is to lay a heavy stake in the Nigerian market first, and this was why INNOSON asked the Ghanaian to wait until they'd fully consolidated their Nigeria operations.

I would also suggest, perhaps as a mid-term objective, their release of a flagship luxury saloon vehicle. THAT would turn a lot of heads around the world for sure.

ROSSIKE:

What is it about you people and simple comprehension? For the umpteenth time, INNOSON Motors is a bona fide AUTO MANUFACTURING PLANT, NOT an ''assembly plant''. All the relevant information/evidence has been posted above, yet you still keep posting this ignorant garbage.

Siena:

Bro, relax. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, yourself included. I wouldn't call the guy's opinion "ignorant garbage", if I did it would make me come across as arrogant and bigoted.

Simply agree to disagree.

ROSSIKE:
It is not subject to ''opinion''.

7lives:
Nigerians love good things no doubt about this, but are we ready to pay the price?, no.
A country that has no functioning steel rolling mill cannot boast of having an auto plant.
Forget about what you read on pages of news papers, auto plants are billion dollar projects. And most times it takes the government will power, political and economic arm twisting of the brand owners to get them to set up these auto plant in another country, especially a developing country like Nigeria.
Innoson and others involved in auto assembly business will get there one day , but for now, this is just the reality, ask the Chinese and the Indians, they will tell you how they got their auto plants.

http://odili.net/news/source/2012/may/16/11.html

To adequately develop the sector, the Managing Director of Innoson Nigeria Limited, Chief Innocent Chukwura, recently called for review of government policies.
"If we continue to import fully built up vehicles, we are creating jobs for those countries we are importing from. But the importation of completely or semi knocked down vehicles will create a lot of employment or small-scale businesses,'' he said.
Chukwura said that apart from the usual challenges associated with industries, raw materials like steel were not readily available.

"If Ajaokuta steel can be resuscitated, it will serve the auto industry. However, the challenges remain, and if not surmounted, the dream of going back to the glorious days of auto industry may not be realized," he added.

Denise216: Innoson Motors isn't the first black-owned auto-maker in the world.

Siena:

That's true. Frederick Douglas Patterson in 1916. http://www.highland-ohio.com/patterson_automobile.htm

Denise216: Innoson Motors isn't the first black-owned auto-maker in the world.