Have you noticed an increase in the number of a particular set of cars, SUVs & Jeeps on Nigerian roads? Of course cars like Toyota, Honda Mercedes Benz, are all commonplace. But there is a new set of made-in-Nigeria cars that are fast competing.
Today, many Nigerians are now proud owners of luxurious cars produced and marketed right here in the country. Innoson Motors started in the midst of doubt, unbelief and huge challenges of inconsistent power supply, high cost of production as well as stiff competition from well-established brands. Despite all these challenges, the company has thrived so well and is waxing stronger by the day.
Today, Innoson produces SUVs, Salon Cars, Trucks, Luxury Cars, Buses, Mini-Buses as well Tricycles.
City People’s Brands Editor, DAMILARE SALAMI (08155134152) takes a look at what has worked for the INNOSON MOTORS Brand and how well it has fared in the last couple of years of its existence.
ABOUT INNOSON VEHICLE MANUFACTURING COMPANY (IVM)
Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited. (Commonly shortened to/ IVM) is a Nigerian automobile manufacturer headquartered in/Nnewi/Anambra State and was founded by Chief/Innocent Chukwuma Nwala in 2007. Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing is regarded as the largest indigenous automobile manufacturing firm and produces 70% of the car parts locally, while the rest is sourced from Japan, China, and Germany.
Before Innoson vehicles was commissioned in 2010, over 30,000 brand new cars sold in Nigeria were all imported. At the time, there was no functional vehicle manufacturing or assembly plant in Nigeria producing these cars. Yet, out of guts, faith and hope, Innocent Chukwuma decided to venture into vehicle manufacturing, becoming the first to produce a made-in-Nigeria vehicle that will be named Innoson.
This is not the first time Innoson has decided to braze the trail by producing a made-in-Nigeria automotive product. In 2000, Innoson decided to start the manufacturing and assembly of the Innoson Brand of motorcycles and made a huge success out of it. Innoson Nig Ltd became the first indigenous and biggest assembler and manufacturer of motorcycles.
Within two years of establishing Innoson Vehicles, the then Governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi ordered 1000 units of Innoson Vehicles which include, Pick Ups, Buses and SUV’s. The show of faith by Mr Peter Obi was the trigger Innoson needed to show the durability and capacity of the made-in-Nigeria vehicle. Today, the vehicles bought under the administration of Mr Peter Obi are still being used today by some traditional rulers, schools as well as security agencies proving the durability strength of Innoson vehicles.
IVM has been improving steadily on the quality of its vehicles by ensuring it gets feedback from the users of Innoson Vehicles to know their views on their IVM experience and with these feedbacks, it seeks better ways to improve on the tastes and preferences of our customers to suit the environment.
THE BATTLE IN THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY
Before now, Toyota, Honda, Benz and Peugeot cars have been ruling Nigeria. As a matter of fact, Peugeot used to be the official Nigerian government car brand before Toyota took over. Nigeria being a densely populated nation and a highly consuming one at that was invaded by foreign automobile manufacturers. There was a time these foreign companies had assembling plants in the nation because of huge sales but many of them have folded up. IVM needed a lot of guts to challenge these companies and it is gradually paying off. Of course, Rome wasn’t built in a day, IVM has been strategically positioning itself in such a way that with the right support from appropriate quarters, it will soon take over the market completely.
ANAMBRA STATE GOVERNMENT ALREADY KEYED IN
One of the best ways for IVM to be accepted is by patronage from both the federal and state governments. The government has been preaching buying and using Nigerian products but it has not practiced what it is preaching to the citizens. If the Federal Government, all state governments and members of the National Assembly announce IVM as its official carmaker instead of Toyota, the brand would become easily visible because government parastatals are ready markets that could lift any brand, especially in the automobile market.
As we speak, only newly sworn-in Governor of Anambra State, Charles Soludo, has announced the use of the Innoson vehicle as its official car. Others need to do the same to lift the Nigerian brand.
PRODUCING FOR 5 AFRICAN COUNTRIES
The Head, Corporate Communications, Innoson Group, Mr Cornel Osigwe, expressed excitement over Governor Charles Soludo’s endorsement of the Innoson vehicle as the official vehicle for Anambra State, which shows the durability and capacity of the made-in-Nigeria vehicle.
Osigwe said, “Governor Soludo is the first governor to use Innoson vehicles as official vehicle and we are hopeful that such endorsement will increase patronage from other state governments, corporate organisations and other well-meaning Nigerians.
“Presently, IVM is producing vehicles for about five countries in Africa including Sierra Leone, Mali, Congo, and Côte d’Ivoire.’
INNOSON TO PRODUCE 60,000 VEHICLES ANNUALLY
Osigwe said that the group will increase its vehicle manufacturing capacity from 10,000 vehicles annually to 60,000 vehicles annually after migrating from a manual production plant to a fully automated production plant.
He said, “The manual production plant has the capacity to produce about 10,000 vehicles annually but at the completion of the migration to a fully automated production plant, it will have the capacity to produce about 60,000 annually.’’
PARTNERSHIP WITH BBNAIJA DID SOME MAGIC
Let’s be the first to tell you that a lot of Nigerian youths fell in love with the IVM brand after sponsoring the 2021 Big Brother Naija Show and Gulder Ultimate Search.
The Big Brother Naija Shine Ya Eye housemates participated in a challenge organised by Innoson Vehicle Manufacturers and Pere Egbi emerged as the winner of the task. As the winner, Pere received a brand new car, the IVM CARIS 2021 model, courtesy of Innoson.
When Brands & Products hit the street to enquire, many Nigerian youths revealed that they fell in love with the brand for having watched how BBNaija housemates struggled to win the Innoson car during the show.
INNOSON’S UNIQUE SELLING POINTS
IVM is truly a Nigerian brand that understands the needs of many automobile users across the length and breadth of the country. The brand came into the automobile business with the understanding of what Nigerians really wanted and provided such. Some of the key features of IVM products that placed them above other competitors are;
RUGGED PERFORMANCE
Innoson motors are automobiles made for African roads. They are rugged by nature. Some Nigerian users of Innoson Motors revealed to Brands & Products that one of the reasons they went for Innoson was because of the understanding that these vehicles are made rugged for Nigerian roads. Daniel Ogbolor a user of Innoson Motors said.
FUEL ECONOMY
No Nigerian wants a fuel-consuming vehicle. This is because of the current harsh economic realities Nigerians are being faced with. Many Nigerians prefer cars that consume less fuel because it can serve as a way of reducing expenses and it is a known fact that the fuel consumed is nothing compared to the distance you cover while driving an Innoson automobile.
LOW CHANCES OF OVERHEATING
An automobile mechanic who plies his trade at Ladipo, Lagos, Emeka Chukwueze spoke to Brands & Products about IVM products, particularly with regards to overheating and he had this to say about Innoson Products… “Innoson vehicles are specially manufactured to reduce their chances of overheating despite the hot African weather, they have devised a cooling technology that helps their vehicles to function optimally even during the dry season. The fact that they understand the Nigerian weather is a factor that has worked so well for them.”
AVAILABLE SPARE PARTS
Unlike some other brands that don’t have their spare parts readily available, IVM produces here in Nigeria and has all its car parts available nationwide through its network of sub-dealers. Nigerians don’t have to sweat or bother when the need to replace any part of their cars arises. They are readily available with dealers at popular automobile shops across the country. The prices of these parts are not affected by forex so they don’t fluctuate like other imported brands.
Car Loans
Perhaps a lot of people are not aware, Innoson Motors has partnered with some Nigerian banks to ensure that their prospective customers have access to car loans. It simply means that customers can get any IVM product of their choice and pay in instalments.
INNOSON TRICYCLE LANDS MARKET
Innoson is just about producing for the top class; it is about producing for every class in Nigeria. It recently rolled out its tricycle automobile product line, otherwise known as Keke or Marwa, to cater for the transportation need of the lower class of the Nigerian population.
IVM has set the price of its latest tricycles, otherwise known as Keke or Marwa at N950,000 per unit, which the few units manufactured were sold. This we got from a reliable source. Although this price is not the final price yet as the company is yet to roll out the tricycle in commercial quantity into the market, Innoson Keke will crash the prices of Keke in Nigeria. Imported Keke is currently sold between N1.2 million to N1.35 million.
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