[size=15pt]Volkswagen, Stallion begin vehicle assembly in Nigeria [/size]

LAGOS — An agreement to establish a vehicle assembly plant in Nigeria has been signed between global automobile manufacturer Volkswagen Group and regional conglomerate, Stallion Group

This will mark a historic return of the German car maker after more than 20 years of their departure following the collapse of their joint venture with the Federal Government leading to the closure of their manufacturing facility in Lagos and the subsequent sale of government shares to the Stallion Group.

In line with the new auto policy announced by the Federal Government in October 2013, the collaboration between the Volkswagen Group and Stallion will result in local assembly of prime Volkswagen brands in Nigeria.
Stallion will assemble the Jetta, Volkswagen CC, and Amarok models during the initial phase, followed by the Passat, Tiguan and other models in subsequent phases.

The Volkswagen Group with its headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany is one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers and the largest car maker in Europe.

The Group operates 107 production plants in 19 European countries and a further eight countries in the Americas, Asia and Africa. The Volkswagen Group sells its vehicles in 153 countries.
Stallion Group is already the exclusive distributor for several brands of the Volkswagen Group including Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, and Porsche.
Stallion Group is a multinational conglomerate with a 45-year history operating in Nigeria and in 18 countries and is engaged in diversified industries.

Commenting on the partnership, Stallion’s Chairman Sunil Vaswani said “This is a proud moment for Stallion in partnering with a world-leading global brand like Volkswagen.

He said further that “Stallion is fully committed to achieving its objectives in establishing assembly operations in Nigeria, and expanding into other aspects of the automotive industry value chain.”

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