One of the prominent Japanese auto manufacturers,
Nissan, has initiated a discussion with the Federal
Government for the establishment of an assembly plant in Nigeria.

The firm, which took the automobile industry by storm last Wednesday with the inauguration of Stallion Auto Group as its new distributor/dealership in Lagos, said it hoped to start assembling its products in the country soon.

Head of Nissan sub-Sahara Africa, Mr. Jim Dando, stated
this during the inauguration.

According to him, the auto manufacturing giant is excited
about the new business direction and expects Nigeria to
play a dominant role in its plan to double its market share
from its current 7.9 per cent to 16 per cent in Africa by
2016.

He noted that with the its large population, Nigeria should be interested in establishing viable auto manufacturing companies.

According to him, a robust auto industry is a major job
creator, giving the South African experience where the
sector offers job opportunities to people in spare part
companies, steel making firms, transport and other related companies.

Although Dando said that although the firm was prepared
to crash the prices of Nissan products, the current import
duty differential between fully built vehicles and semi-
built/components must be wide in order to discourage the
importation of the former.

He also spoke on the need to control the influx of used
vehicles called tokunbo into the country.
He said the firm had confidence in the ability of Stallion
Group to push the brand to the top position in the country. As a measure of that confidence, he said Nissan would unveil seven new products in Nigeria this year.
He spoke on some of the new products such as 2013
Nissan Sentra, Tiida, new Teana, NV 350 Urvan.
"GT-R and Juke are enroute to Lagos as we speak, while
the next generation Sentra, Tiida, Teana, Pathfinder and
Qashqai will be introduced in the coming months, bringing cars packed with innovative features that reflect Nissan's passion for bringing accessible technology to a broader audience," Dando said.

The Managing Director, Stallion NMN, said the inauguration of the Nissan facility at Gbagada, Lagos, was the first step in the company's commitment to the provision of an exclusive and world-class automotive experience to customers in Nigeria.

He said, "Stallion has a firm belief in the Nissan brand and wishes to re-connect the local motoring public with
Nissan's heritage of solid engineering, ingenuity and
aesthetic values. Through our network expansion plans,
and strong focus on the ongoing development of our sales and service teams, Nigeria's consumers can expect
consistent and innovative sales and service solutions."

Source:mobile.punchng.com/output.php?link=http://www.punchng.com/business/transport/nissan-fg-discuss-assembly-plant-establishment/

I can remember the president meeting with some representatives of Nissan @ the last economic summit in SA...Very good development...pray its actually translated to sometin Tangible soonest