Cars: What are we expecting this year?
January 9, 2007 - As published in www.vanguardngr.com

WHAT are we expecting from the automobile franchise holders in 2007? This has been the question from most of our readers this year.

This year for sure will be a boom for the automobile marketers in Nigeria for many reasons. The coming election will increase the sales in certain categories of automobile (4 x 4) while the improved economy will improve peoples and companies purchasing power.

New models will come in from Europe, America, Japan and China. There will also be improvement in after sales backup and the entry of more new brands will raise the competition in the sector thereby bringing the best from the franchise holders.

With the coming of Nissan last year, the sector no doubt is poised for a tough competition and only the automobile marketers that have the right brand and backup will rule the market.

For now, Opel is gearing up to join the market while Volvo is staging a comeback through another representative. The Chinese however are coming with some brands in the passenger car, light truck and bus segments.

But talking about new models this year, it looks as if the Stallion group has the ace. A new Honda CR-V is most likely to debut in the second quarter of the year while Hyundai Nigeria will be introducing the new Elantra to strengthen their hold in the compact car segment.

Hyundai, late last year introduced the award winning Santa Fe which looks much like the Volkswagen Tuareg. Also most of the Audi models which Stallion could not launch into the market last year are coming in full force this year. They include the Audi A6, A4 and A3.

Although these cars have been around in Europe and other markets before now, Vanguard Motoring reliably gathered that Stallion will be getting their stock this year. The new Audi Sports Utility Vehicle, Audi Q7 too is expected to join the Audi family in Nigeria this year.

For Volkswagen, not much is expected in terms of new models since it introduced the new Jetta and Passat last year. Volkswagen would strive to get enough stock to satisfy its customers who are beginning to look the way of the Japanese and European models.

Also much is expected from Dana Motors who represent Kia Motors in Nigeria. The new Carens and Ceed are expected to hit the Nigerian market this year. The Caren underwent model change last year and is expected to join the Optima, Carnival, Rio and Kia SUVs-Sportage and Sorento in this first quarter.

The Caren is a compact multi-purpose vehicle that seats five to seven passengers. It is powered by a 2.0 litre engine. The Kia Ceed which will be joining the Kia family later in the year is designed for the European market and will have good prospect in Nigeria. The Ceed engine capacity ranges from 1.6 to 2.0 litre.

The Americans models will continue their quest to the top in the Nigerian market with the Ford and Chevrolet models. Ford in particular will be introducing some new models like the new Ford Mondeo, and Focus which are doing well in other markets.

For Toyota which introduced more than five models last year alone, it is most likely that they will try to consolidate with the new cars. Toyota is ruling the market in every segment, be it passenger car, sport utility, pick up van, and mini bus segments. Its head of marketing, Mr. Andrew Ajuyah says that Toyota has so much to offer this year.

According to him, people never expected that they would introduce five new models last year but they did. Maybe, the new Toyota Crown and possibly a new model of the fast selling Corolla will hit the market this year.

For now, the company is even finding it difficult meeting the demand for the new Camry which looks like a typical luxury car. The Camry was introduced late last year and since then, it has become the choice car in its segment selling like a hotcake.

But the luxury car segment is where there is little or no actions in Nigeria. For Mercedes, it has been a dull year since it closed its office in Victoria Island. Mercedes owes a lot to Globe Motors Holdings which organised the Argungu Motor Rally, using the Mercedes and Toyota models, Globe has continued to push the brand despite all odds.

The same goes for BMW which is represented in Nigeria by Coscharis Motors. Since the Commonwealth Games hosted by Nigeria, and Commonwealth heads of government meeting, their importation has not been the same.

Although the company has almost all the BMW models in Nigeria from 1 series to 7 series, its import has dwindled due to the fact that most people purchase their luxury cars from the used car market which oftentimes comes at half the price of the ones sold by Coscharis.

Meanwhile, fillers reaching Vanguard Motoring has it that Nissan will be storming the market with array of models including the new Altima, Murano, and Pathfinder SUVs and some smaller passenger cars to give Honda and Toyota a fight.

Peugeot, the most popular French brand in Nigeria will also be launching the newly introduced Peugeot 207 into the market. The 207 which succeeds the 206 model was launched into the European market in 2006 and expected to surpass the Peugeot 206 record in Nigeria.

Already Peugeot is having a good run in the market with the supply of some models to the Armed Forces under an arrangement with the federal government. The Peugeot 406, 407 and 307 are now a common sight on Nigerian road, courtesy of the new deal.