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Leon Zhan, TIM Motors chief executive officer, says the new car market in Nigeria is expected to reach at least 50,000 units within three years, and the company aims to capture 10 percent to 20 percent of this market.
To achieve this goal, Zhan noted that there are plans in place to target the top 10 percent of the used car market and offer Chinese new cars that are priced lower and come with better warranty.
Speaking at a strategic growth summit in Lagos, Zhan noted that the influx of used cars from North America is a major challenge in the industry, while stressing the need for new cars to penetrate the market.
He said: “In Nigeria, we import nearly 500 to 600 second-hand cars from North America. However, all of these cars, their quality is not transparent. And the price, if compared even with China’s new car, they are not competitive.
“This is a challenge. The market is not stable, it’s not transparent. Because for used cars, every car’s situation is different. So customers cannot judge the car’s real situation. However, the challenge presents an opportunity for us to offer something better to the people. As we estimate, we are going to replace at least 10 per cent of the used cars by Chinese new cars.”
He added that Tim Motors would provide financing solutions to customers through partnerships with Chinese financing companies like C&D to attract more people.
Zhan emphasised the importance of government support in promoting industry growth, calling for policies that motivate Chinese new cars over second-hand cars from North America.
“We are going to employ at least 100 to 200 local employees and we are going to train and coach a lot of these people to be skilled in car maintenance, especially for new energy car maintenance.
“We hope the government can launch some policy to motivate Chinese new cars rather than second cars. We can help to solve the employment issues and we also can help the local government to build up the local supply chain step by step.
“We are confident that our strategy will work. We are committed to working with local partners and the government to build a sustainable automotive industry in Nigeria.
“This will help in solving employment issues and build up the local supply chain step by step,” he said.
On his part, Henry Orajiaka, CEO of MINADI a subsidiary of Motomedia Group, expressed excitement about the strategic partnership and collaboration, with Tim Motors, saying it will be a game-changer in the automobile space in Nigeria due to the high quality and features of the range of cars and service offerings.
