QUESTION
Dear Editor,
Why does your publication sometime describe cars assembled in Nigeria as made-in-Nigeria Vehicles and auto assemblers as Automobile manufacturers?
Isn’t that a misinformation?
Thank you
Arch. Falade Ezekiel Ajayi (Falade.ajayi121961@yahoo.com)
ANSWER
Dear Arch. Ajayi,
Thank you for your observation.
Technically, assembling is the last stage of automobile manufacturing. That means what an auto assembly plant engages in is an aspect of auto manufacturing. So if, for instance, Nissan Nigeria imports vehicle kits in whatever form, it is not yet a car until assembled and tested.
Therefore, a car assembled in Nigeria could rightly be tagged: Made-in-Nigeria. Of course there are various levels of auto assembly. The lowest level is semi-knocked-Down (SKD) assembly. A more complex stage is Completely-Knocked-Down (CKD).
A car manufacturer could also have subsidiaries, where certain components are manufactured. It could have in-house designers or outsource designers.
For instance, Peugeot Automobile plant located in Sochaux, France, about 600 km from Germany, outsources most of its components from other European countries. That is why a rail line leads straight from Germany into its components warehouse located in Sochaux, from where they are moved to the assembly line.
All auto assembly plants, including the ones in Nigeria have got a spraying section. Of course more sophisticated plants like Nissan in Japan, Toyota in Japan, Hyundai in South Korea, Ford in United States, Jaguar Land Rover in UK, BMW in Germany, even Peugeot in France have robots doing the spraying.
All auto assembly plants in Nigeria have got all the foregoing sections. The only difference is that most of them, for now, assemble from semi-knocked-Down components, as provided for in the National Auto Industry development Plan (NAIDP), which both former and current president of Nigeria have failed to sign into law.
What you, therefore, need to understand is that auto manufacturing is carried out in stages, including: component manufacturing, which auto manufacturers stock and put together to make a car.
And where does this last stage take place?
Answer: Assembly plant.
Therefore, in whichever country this last stage is carried out is where the vehicle is made.
Dear Readers,
For answers to any question bothering your mind about automobile technology or any intractable problem you encounter with your vehicle, mail the editor via: info@motoringng.com
And be careful out there.
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