Importation of used car, popularly known as Tokunboh in Nigeria, has declined by 51%, according to the nation’s international trade data released recently by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
To this end, the value of imported used vehicles into the country dropped from N346.29 billion in 2021 to N169.1 billion in the first half of 2022.
The trend, which also applies to the importation of motorcycles and cycles in the country, has been attributed to scarcity of FOREX and drop in the value of Naira, which has pushed up the prices of the imported used vehicles. In addition, car dealers also blame the development, partly on the increase in the fees associated with clearing the cars from the ports.
The naira, which started the year at an average of N565 against the US dollar, has fallen to as low as over N800 to a US dollar. And following the announcement of plans by the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) to redesign N200, N500 and N1000 notes before the end of the year, analysts have speculated that Naira exchange rate might further drop to N1000 to a dollar from 2023.
Already, prices of used vehicles on sale in Nigeria have increased significantly. For instance, a Toyota Camry 2007 to 2009 model that was sold for an average of N3.3 million last year has increased to a minimum of N4.1 million.
Also, a Lexus ES 350 (2007 to 2013 model) now costs an average of N5.3 million. It was sold for an average of N3.5 million as of this time last year. In the same vein, the price of a Toyota Corolla increased from N2 million to over N3.5 million.
As a result, imported used vehicle sales, according to the used car dealers, have dropped drastically across the country,
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