When compared with the French Peugeot or the German Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, the loved and well embraced Toyota, Nissan and Honda of our time are late comers to the Nigerian automobile market. This is a fact people barely remember owing to the current wave of Japmobiles-Japanese cars-in Nigeria. The shift in the demand for more Japanese cars in Nigeria instead of more European cars is very much in line with the global shift to light-weight vehicles with better fuel economy and reliability.

According to vehicle sales data at the end of 2013, Toyota still held the top spot in total vehicle sales, followed by a strong European contender-Volkswagen. In this article, I will go beyond justifying the current market shift to Japanese vehicles solely from a global market perspective. In line with what obtains in the Nigerian vehicle market and general transport trends in this region, I have observed a few collective trends which may have led to this local market shift beyond key global or western influence. I will go further to try and explain why Nigerians have come to love Japanese cars so much and why this may be a very difficult trend to reverse.

Initial low price required for vehicle and spare-parts purchase: as many people have a very wrong notion about European car spare-parts pricing, for instance Mercedes Benz parts are traditionally tagged ‘too expensive’. But the truth here is the seemingly higher initial expense required to purchase a Mercedes car part is relative to the expected time it will serve you. A Nissan shock-absorber may cost half the price of that of a Mercedes but would hardly match serving half the life-span of the Mercedes spare-part; it’s not a question of durability, it’s just the clear strategies adopted by these distinct vehicle makers. In a cash-based society like ours with a struggling number of the middle-class individuals, without a doubt, the Japanese strategy suits us very well. A significant chunk of individuals are not after owning super vehicles as they need a simple transporter capable of moving them from point A to point B. They want the car with the lowest price tag and lowest spare-part cost regardless of the long-term durability prospects or frequency of repairs owing to more frequent spare-part replacements or maintenance procedures.

Nigerians are largely ‘safe followers’ and poor researchers: this is very glaring in our purchasing attitude. Some just love Toyota cars owing to the safety in numbers. However, in the real sense of it, you can’t rule out popularity of a particular brand when choosing which to spend your money on but, there a several other factors to consider. A typical Nigerian will land at his/her conclusion based on the facts that many people use Japanese cars and many mechanics know their way around these cars- which is hardly true for newer models.

Japanese cars have good 3rd hand value: when it comes to reselling vehicles in Nigeria, European cars are seen as ‘bad market’, as Japanese cars are the ones that ‘move well’ in the market. But why is this the case? Japanese cars have lighter weight and fewer automation making them more reliable even to non-attentive owners, but European cars with more automation require that extra attention most Nigerian buyers are not willing to give.

Fuel economy is the king: over here in Nigeria, the true test of how fuel thirsty a vehicle is happens to be a measure of its fuel consumption when something is wrong with the engine or drivetrain. Nigerians don’t want a car that will consume excess fuel just because a few sensors or an injector is bad, as they will rather manage. If a vehicle can’t maintain reasonable fuel economy levels while they are ‘managing’, it simply means the vehicle is a true fuel guzzler.

Transporters choice: many transporters prefer Japanese vehicles like Mazda buses/cars, Nissan vehicles, Toyota vehicles and the new wave of Chinese vehicles generally. A good example of this shift from European to Asian vehicles is the fleet history of Cross Country transport which operates across West-Africa. They first began in 2002 with Volkswagen buses but today they have a fleet which comprises majorly of Asian brands like Toyota, Nissan, President Hiace , Foton and our locally made Innoson. Preferences of this kind go a long way to cement the motoring public’s perception about the reliability of Japanese vehicles as these inter-state commuter buses are subjected to repeated stresses and road impact more than any city car, hence why they are used as a perfect yard-stick in passenger vehicle selection.

Vehicle dealerships/car sale centers in Nigeria are largely uncreative: every dealer hopes to get a market share and very few really think about a long-term strategy to go up against well embraced and loved Japanese cars. A few notable efforts have been made by dealers like Cosharis, Dana, amongst others in the past to lure Nigerians to try out European, Koreans and American marques but, for there to be a true market shift, there has to be a more sustained and collective approach backed by better after-sales services and better post-warranty policies.

Our average mechanics are lazy and non-progressive, but street smart: the same mechanics that will worship the 1999 ‘tiny light’ Toyota Camry will out rightly regard the 2008 ‘muscle’ Toyota Camry as a problematic car. This is simply because the tiptronic gear system (which is electronically mated to the engine) is any average mechanic’s nightmare. A typical Nigerian mechanic isn’t conscious of technological advancement around him/her. Rather than trying to learn new things, they will rather justify their love for the old technologies, just as they did with the injector system when manufacturers began phasing out carburetors. These same mechanics are however, smart enough to influence purchasing decisions of their clients to enable them remain relevant.

So if you happen to be a Japanese-crazy Nigerian vehicle owner, please share why you love your car so much.

http://autobaseafrica.com/amazing-facts-why-nigerians-love-japanese-cars/

The world over loves Japanese cars after all in the USA with a lot of discerning buyers, researchers and autoist, Toyota still sells more. So saying Toyota syndrome (concept developed by me) is a Nigerian thing is actually unfounded, I'm not a toyota fan per se but I must admit that they make good cars all manager from premium to low class vehicles they are there to serve you. Whether you like it or not people will keep saying Japanese cars have better fuel economy because they took that battle and won it first before it became a norm.

I am with Japanese cars because I do not currently have the money to buy the type of German car I love.

Was travelling from Bida to Minna yesterday and came across an old friend parked by the side of the road. He had a flat tyre on his Toyota Highlander, not sure of the year but its like an '03. Dude said thats the first time in 3 years he bought the car that he'll have to stop to fix something. and it was a tyre......My brothers, that's called Reliability. I love the German rides anyday especiallu for their performance but Japs still have it when it comes to weathering harsh maintenance cultures and negligence. You can also stick your hands in and get em running in no time

The Japanese need to start making more fuel efficient, greener SUVs. The feeling of lording over the other vehicles on the road is simply indescribable, however every time I find myself at the gas pump I wonder if it's worth it. The thought always evaporates once I get back on the road (smh). It's been a vicious cycle

EnlightenedSoul:
The Japanese need to start making more fuel efficient, greener SUVs. The feeling of lording over the other vehicles on the road is simply indescribable, however every time I find myself at the gas pump I wonder if it's worth it. The thought always evaporates once I get back on the road (smh). It's been a vicious cycle

What are you saying.

peterjero:

What are you saying.

Which part requires clarification? I have a love/hate relationship with my Japanese SUV.

EnlightenedSoul:


Which part requires clarification? I have a love/hate relationship with my Japanese SUV...obviously.

Every part of it, do other countries make efficient and greener SUVs than the Japanese? After all for hybrid cars Japanese sell more hybrid cars and SUVs alike than any manufacturer so that's why I'm lost at your write up. No pun intended at all.

peterjero:

Every part of it, do other countries make efficient and greener SUVs than the Japanese? After all for hybrid cars Japanese sell more hybrid cars and SUVs alike than any manufacturer so that's why I'm lost at your write up. No pun intended at all.

I own a Toyota FJ Cruiser AWD and although I love the car to bits, trips to the gas station are enough to break my heart and burn my wallet loll. The thing is, I drive a lot. And I go on a lot of [road] trips. I also live in a mountainous area that gets ridiculous snow in the winter, and I sometimes find myself off the beaten path, so my SUV is perfect for all that. It's been veryyy reliable, and I love it! However, SUVs are generally very bad on gas, and mine is no exception. It just sucks that they can't seem to manufacture a true gas efficient SUV without compromising most/all of the positive traits that make an SUV vehicle an SUV.

Crossovers and Sedans are mostly blegh IMO. The only reason I called out the Japanese is because I own a Japanese vehicle.

EnlightenedSoul:


I own a Toyota FJ Cruiser AWD and although I love the car to bits, trips to the gas station are enough to break my heart and burn my wallet loll. The thing is, I drive a lot. And I go on a lot of [road] trips. I also live in a mountainous area that gets ridiculous snow in the winter, and I sometimes find myself off the beaten path, so my SUV is perfect for all that. It's been veryyy reliable, and I love it! However, SUVs are generally very bad on gas, and mine is no exception. It just sucks that they can't seem to manufacture a true gas efficient SUV without compromising most/all of the positive traits that make an SUV vehicle an SUV.

Crossovers and Sedans are mostly blegh IMO. The only reason I called out the Japanese is because I own a Japanese vehicle.

Now I understand

EnlightenedSoul:
The Japanese need to start making more fuel efficient, greener SUVs. The feeling of lording over the other vehicles on the road is simply indescribable, however every time I find myself at the gas pump I wonder if it's worth it. The thought always evaporates once I get back on the road (smh). It's been a vicious cycle

The words "SUV" and "fuel efficient" don't go well together in a positive way.

You just have to make personal choice, 1) Do you want to "lord" over your fellow men or 2) buy a reasonable vehicles that meets a sane and sensible use.

CityNG:


The words "SUV" and "fuel efficient" don't go well together in a positive way.

You just have to make personal choice, 1) Do you want to "lord" over your fellow men or 2) buy a reasonable vehicles that meets a sane and sensible use.

SUVs provide both 1 and 2

I've been driving SUVs since I was 16, and it always feels super strange to convert to a sedan. Sometimes - when I want something extra nice - I'll drop my car at my brother's place and steal his ride. But I swear, I always feel like an ant on the road whenever I do that. A very elegant ant, but an ant nonetheless.

EnlightenedSoul:


SUVs provide both 1 and 2

I've been driving SUVs since I was 16, and it always feels super strange to convert to a sedan. Sometimes - when I want something more elegant - I'll drop my car at my brother's place and steal his ride. But I swear, I always feel like an ant on the road whenever I do that. A very elegant ant, but an ant nonetheless.

The person in an Audi R8 is far more lordship.

CityNG:


No true SUV provides real fuel efficiency.

Some car based crossovers may come close to doing that.

Yh, I'm afraid you're right on that

It's what I've been saying all along. That's something that seriously needs to be improved upon.

CityNG:


The person in an Audi R8 is far more lordship.

And yet his 'lordship' will eat my dust just as readily as everything else on the road (not that I take any pleasure in that or anything)

Besides, this isn't about luxury cars. Thats a category all its own.

EnlightenedSoul:


And yet his 'lordship' will eat my dust just as readily as everything else on the road (not that I take any pleasure in that or anything)

Besides, this isn't about luxury cars. Thats a category all its own.

Oh please be serious now. And also the R8 is not a luxurious car. The A8 is.

I think I'm done here now. Have fun.

CityNG:


Oh please be serious now. And also the R8 is not a luxurious car. The A8 is.

I think I'm done here now. Have fun.

Ah, spare me. That you're "done" doesn't make you right.

The horsepower on that R8 may have made my eyes boggle, but it's mpg quickly made it blur - it's worse than an SUV and not half as useful! If I was only out for speed and a futuristic build that kisses the ground, I could've picked better.

What's funny is that it doesn't even meet your own previously outlined criteria; it's neither fuel efficient, reasonable, nor reliable. I would take my cruiser over that any most days!

peterjero:

Now I understand

me sef