[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Lagos International Trade Fair, which ended on Sunday, felt the presence of the automobile and allied sectors. Although the main manufacturers were obviously absent, from outside the Tafawa Balewa Square Complex, flags of Michelin could be seen flying. Japanese-related automotive companies were “pavilioned” off the generally crowded, noisy and choking fair public. Honda, Mitsubishi, Isuzu, Toyota, Yokohama, Suzuki, Yamaha and many more all pitched tents under the plastic pavilion. But how significant were automotive exhibitions at the event? What did they have to offer? ROTIMI ASHER captured them all…
Tyres
[dropcap]L[/dropcap]ed by Michelin, whose flags were visible from the front end of Tafawa Balewa Square, the 2015 Lagos International Trade fair hosted also Yokohama and Maxxis tyre brands.
Michelin Tyre Services Co. Limited was there with full range and sizes of its brand. Few minutes our correspondent had at the stand, Michelin made sales. Incentive was that while the show lasted, tyre buyers could have them at discounted prices, referred to as Trade Fair price. Oke Adebayo, the company’s marketing Officer manning the customer service desk hardly had a breathing space, as prospective buyers took turns to make enquiries and purchases.
While Maxxis dealers, like Michelin, attracted buyers with fair period discount, Yokohama stand dished out leaflet offering 25% discount on wheel balancing and alignment from service centres of its Nigerian representative, Viramsun Nigeria Limited.
Two & Three Wheels
[dropcap]B[/dropcap]oulos Enterprises Limited, Nigeria’s leading motorcycle maker and representative of Suzuki brand exhibited at the fair, showing off its new and popular Suzuki brands and outboard engines.
CFAO Yamaha Motor Nigeria Limited’s star exhibit at the event was Yamaha Crux 110, a
motorcycle powered by air-cooled, 4-stroke, SOHC, 2-valve engine with claimed fuel economy of 60km per a litre of fuel. It also exhibited lubricants called Yamalube.
According to Mr. Obafemi Charles, a Marine specialist and a staff of the company, CFAO now markets lubricants for all machines, including cars, motorcycles and generators. Also
significant is VIKING farm vehicle, powered by liquid-cooled, four-stroke Yamaha engine. It is useful for moving around farm and packing of agriculture produce. A star of Japanese Pavilion, it attracted lots of curious visitors.
Honda Motorcycles brand was at the show to convince the nation’s motorcycle buyers why they are better than others.
Honda CG11O Okada, a star of Honda Motorbike stand is targeted at commercial motorcyclists. The message the company was spreading at the fair was that, unlike its rivals, the CG110 will cover 66 kilometres with a litre of fuel. Honda showcased another star offering known as Honda Dream 110, a motorbike powered by single-cylinder, air-cooled, 4-stroke engine with fuel capacity of 3.7 litres.
Auto parts
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]utomotive parts marketers had significant showing at the 2015 trade fair.
NGK Spark Plug Co. Ltd was at the 12-day event not just to make sales but also to enlighten users of auto servicing parts, especially plugs, about the importance of avoiding substandard of fake products. It exhibited specially its all new G-Power platinum spark plug, which according to its maker, is designed to deliver performance and quality expected from NGK Spark plugs.
Whereas NSK South Africa (PTY) Limited showcased NSK Automotive bearing, a product of the world renowned bearing manufacturer.
Automobiles
[dropcap]H[/dropcap]onda Automobile West Africa Limited proudly displayed at the fair the 2015 Honda Accord.
The company’s sales manager, Faith Martins, who spoke to Motoring World at the venue, disclosed that the luxurious machine on display was knitted together at the nation’s Honda Manufacturing plant located at Otta, Ogun State. The company also showcased Honda Engine Oil (SM5W30) manufactured for the company by IDEMITSU LUBE (Singapore) PTE Ltd.
Kojo Motors Limited, one of the major dealers of Toyota Nigeria, represented the leading Japanese brand under the Japanese Pavilion at the Fair. The Toyota stand starred:
Toyota Fortuner, powered by 4-cylinder, 16-valve, twin-cam engine and 5-speed automatic gear box. It carries a retail price of N9, 950,000.
Toyota Hilux 4WD DC Petrol with bed-liner and ground clearance OF 212 mm. Powered by 2.7-litre engine, 4-speed automatic gear box, carrying a price tag of N7.6 million.
Coaster 26-S, seating 26 passengers, powered by 2.7-litre, 4-cylinder inline DOHC engine with 5-speed manual gear box and selling for N11, 500,000
CFAO Motors Nigeria Limited made a gallant outing at this year’s Lagos International Trade Fair concluded on Sunday, showcasing broad range of its recently unveiled Mitsubishi Fuso light and medium duty trucks designed to meet operational needs of the nation’s commercial vehicle users.
The vehicles, which Mr Frederic Nonet, Director Equipment CFAO Automotive Equipment and Services West Africa recently described as a confluence between the hi-tech trucks that are popular in Europe and easy-to-maintain vehicles technologically adapted to fit the motoring environment in Nigeria, were displayed with its other siblings, namely: Mitsubishi Outlander and Mitsubishi Pick-up – L200.
C&I Leasing Plc showcased Suzuki Alto 800 at the fair. About the cheapest car in Nigeria, selling for about N1.32 million is no doubt a smart car, powered by 0.8-litre, 3-cylinder SOHC 12 valve engine.
R.T Briscoe (Nigeria) Plc. exhibited industrial equipment.
Concept Auto Centre Limited unleashed at the fair a range of Isuzu commercial vehicles, which included D-Max of various models differentiated by power and cabin capacity. Single Cabin 2WD version seats three people and powered by 2.4-litreengine and manual transmission. There is Double cabin 4-wheel drive version, which seats 5 passengers and is powered by 2.4-litre engine and 5-sped manual transmission.
Most powerful of the three is a version which, like the last one, seats 5-passengers but is powered by 3.0-litre Turbo Diesel engine. The company also had on display various versions of Isuzu N-A Series.
This year’s Lagos International Trade Fair, which opened on 6th November closed on Sunday.
