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Things seem to be looking up for the Nigerian economy as Ford Motors, the American brand, is set to set up one of its assembly plants in Nigeria. This was made known to Reuter by the spokesman for the company and he said the proposed assembly plant will be set up in Lagos, Nigeria. However, it should be noted that not all brands of Ford automobiles will be assembled in Nigeria; the company only plans to start off with the assembly of its Ranger pickup truck here for start. No one can however say specifically if the company will add the assembly of other automobiles here in the nearest future. We can only keep our fingers crossed and wait patiently for things to unfold.

The said automobile assembly plant is expected to be set up by the fourth quarter of this year 2015 and it is expected to commence operation sooner after that. Ford Motor Company is seeking to extend its automobile reach to various countries across the globe. Other global regions targeted for its extension aside West Africa are Middle East and other African regions. The assembly plant in Nigeria is expected to serve the rest of West Africa. This report was made public to newsmen on Tuesday.  By the time it comes to fruition, it is expected to generate hundreds of job opportunities for the Nigerian populace.

Ford Motor Company have a plant in South Africa and the plant in Nigeria will be the second one ever built in any part of Africa.  Before the decision to establish an assembly plant in Nigeria, Ford Motors have only been able to market their products via Cosharis Motors Limited in Nigeria. The already established production and assembly plant in South Africa however produces the Ford Ranger for up to 148 markets. Once it kick starts, the company has expectations that the Nigerian market will grow at an unprecedented rate.

Jeff Nemeth is the President and Chief Executive Officer  of Ford Motor Company in sub-Saharan Africa and he made known to Reuter that Nigeria stands out as a priority market for the company’s sub-Saharan Africa extension. He said the company seeks to extend and entrench its business relationship with the Nigerian state further in the nearest future, while hoping for complete cooperation from the Nigerian government. Mr. Jeff also declared that the Nigerian assembly plant is planned to serve the rest of West Africa. He however added that this depends largely on how the country develops over time. He declared this to Reuter on Tuesday.          

The Ford Motor’s CEO stated that his company hopes to change the dependence on fairly used and imported automobiles in the Nigerian automobile system in the nearest future, starting with vehicles in the category of the Ford Ranger.  He said the company hopes to be able to achieve its dreams for Nigeria with the expectation that the population strength of Nigeria will be sufficient to push the automobile dream through. The components and parts to be used in the Nigerian assembly plant are expected to be imported from South Africa.

By Anthony Olawale Ojo