Over 70 Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), from all over the world, are already preparing to be at the Federal Palace Hotel Victoria Island to participate in the 11th Lagos Motor Fair and Spare Parts expo.
The fair will hold at the Federal Palace Hotel Arena, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island Lagos from April 28-May 4.
Disclosing this at a stakeholders/media briefing recently, Chairman of the Organising Committee, Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Agwu said all strategies had been deployed to ensure that the fair, more than ever before, received the needed attention from participants, institutional, trade, professional and individual buyers as well as visitors. “We have packaged a show that could effectively be used by the participants and visitors to maximise the benefits that they drive from the fair. This edition will bring out all the potentials and investment opportunities that abound in the Nigerian automobile industry, which we know are very attractive so that the existing and potential stakeholders will utilise the opportunities offered by Lagos Motor Fair to get the best.
“Strategically, as we have been doing since the last five years, we are laying strong emphasis on the Spare Parts sector. This is as a result of our guided intention to enhance the development of cottage industries in the spare parts sub-sector of the automotive business sector of the economy with the attendant multiplier effects on the economy of the nation. Our target is to attract many reputable Original Equipment Manufacturers of Spare Parts from across the globe to participate in this edition as well as in subsequent ones.
“In conjunction with our foreign partners: SENEXPO International Fairs Inc of Turkey, we have reached out to many of such companies and happily the response has been tremendous and we are expecting close to 150 of them. Our intention in bringing them to Lagos which is the hub of automotive business in West Africa is to enable Nigerians and neighbouring West Africans engaged in auto spare business work out rewarding and lasting business relationships with the main companies engaged in the manufacture of auto spare parts.
These relationships which can come in the form of: sole agencies, distributorship, manufacturers’ representatives amongst others will ultimately boost their businesses. It would save them the troubles of going abroad to seal such business deals and most importantly it will bring these foreign companies into the country, resulting in increased activities in the sector, more productions and increased products lines and qualities; which will in both the short and long runs rub off positively on the sector.”
Agwu said to fast track the establishment of automobile assembling plants which would lead to having them manufacturing in the country in the long run, “we must ensure that there are a lot of small scale companies seriously engaged in the production of different auto parts and accessories, so as to lessen the recourse to importing them from abroad. This will go a long way in making the cost of production cheaper and thereby making the products more competitive.
This cost implication will further ensure that people buy more brand new products than the fairly used which a lot of people often resort to because of the high cost of acquiring brand new automobiles.
“China, Japan, South Korea, Brazil and other countries that manufacture automobiles have thousands of smaller companies that manufacture spare parts and accessories; which apart from servicing the automobile companies generate lots of employment for the people. This is ultimately what we are aiming at seeing in Nigeria soonest. We cannot shy away from this if we are serious about having the Nigerian car on the road.”
