Alhaji Musa Bamaiyi, a car dealer in Abuja is not aware of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing’s electric cars. He is also not aware that Nord Automobile recently launched a new car series.....Read Full Article>>
This is a clear signal that the two indigenous brands have failed to employ the right market strategy to make their products a household name. Bamaiyi who has been in the car business for over five years does not have much information about Innoson and he has not “heard of Nord Automobile.”
This shows the poor level of penetration of indigenous car assembly and manufacturing firms. In September 2024, Innoson launched its flagship electric cars- Innoson IVM Link (201-230KM Range), Innoson IVM EX02 (330-400KM Range), Innoson IVM EX01 (201-230KM Range) and the Innoson IVM EX02 (Alternative Price Option).
Barely a month later, in October, Nord also launched its Nord A3 and A9 but the new products have not been noticed by a large per cent of players in the Nigerian automobile business.
The use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) cars and hybrid electric vehicles in Nigeria is on the rise but the two companies are losing out to foreign brands.
“They do not communicate much about their brand. I think beyond their poor communication with the public, they don’t engage major car dealers across the country. When you compare them with foreign brands, you will see that some of those foreign brands reach out to major car dealers in Nigeria.
“Nigeria is a big market when you consider its population and local brands are not supposed to suffer poor patronage if they can re-strategise,” the car dealer said,
The Chief Executive Officer of CA Motors, Kingsley Nwachukwu, has a similar experience. Kingsley is not aware that Innoson which began car assembly in 2007 has released car models that run CNG and electric cars.
“I’m not aware that Innoson has electric and CNG cars,” he said like Bamaiyi.
“Nigerians like foreign-made than locally made. Let me just say they value Nigerian-made. Again, Innoson does not engage dealers or allow dealer to sample their brands.
“Unlike foreign brands that will contact trusted dealers and send their brands to them to sell. Innoson and Nord are not creating enough avenues for people to market their cars.”
Kinglsey highlighted another issue that he said may be affecting the brand. The CA Motors boss said that Innoson’s strategy may not allow him to penetrate the market because he targets luxury models which may be out of the reach of most Nigerians.
Kingsley’s concerns allude to the little beginning of Hyundai when it began assembly in Lagos in 2020 through Glob Motors which was 13 years after Innoson began assembly in Nnewi, Anambra State. When Hyundai began its production, it was targeting low and middle-income earning Nigerians who could afford an average car as well as high-income earners.
Today, Hyundai which began local production in 2020 has become a household name in Nigeria while millions of Nigerians have not come across either Innoson or Nord cars on their streets. KIA has a similar strategy of targeting both the low-income earners and the rich.
The CA Motors founder said, “Innoson is imitating designs of G-Wagon, Mercedes, Grand Cherokee and other big brands which will make their cars very expensive for an average employer in Nigeria. Only the rich and the government can afford such categories of cars.
“If they started by producing cars that average Nigerians would buy, they would have penetrated the market. Nigeria has a lot of low-income earners that Innoson and Nord should target. When Kia made its way to the Nigerian market, they sold for as low as N800,000 and N1.2m.
“If you want to penetrate the market, start from scratch. Target the right people so that even when the government fails to buy from you, Nigerians will comfortably buy.”
The Chief Executive Officer of P One Car, Precious Israel Okosi, identified the affordability and availability of spare parts as a major setback for Innoson and Nord Automobile.
“In Nigeria, people go for what is common, save their fuel and can be easily repaired without calling the company. People also want cars that they can easily get the parts. For instance, you can buy other car brands in either Apo, Abuja or Zuba market in Abuja,” said Okosi.
Okosi believes that poor investment in informing the public is also killing the indigenous brands.
He said, “I believe they are not investing much in communication and that is why most people who use Innoson are either from government officials or the rich. What most Nigerians need is to be aware of the product.
“They need to find a way to drive their brands. A lot of people don’t even wish to buy these brands because their owners have not been able to convince them on why they should buy the brand despite challenges like spare parts and second-hand value.”
Innoson and Nord Should Start Giving Out Cars On Loans
Experts who spoke on the matter suggest that the brands need to invest in communicating with Nigerians if they want their brands to thrive.
An expert, Jonson Obinna, said Innoson and Nord ought to dominate the automobile market considering the high cost of shipping new and fairly used cars into Nigeria due to forex issues.
But he said they are unable to utilise the opportunity because of their poor strategy.
“A lot of Nigerians are willing to get cars, especially CNG but cars are very expensive due to the high cost of importation. If Innoson and Nord give out their cars on loan it will be a very good marketing strategy for them.
“It will also help them in creating awareness about their brands. I learned that Innoson was running a loan programme with Access Bank some time ago but I do not know how they have been able to make it flexible for Nigerians. This will also help in creating awareness,” Obinna said. Exposed Celebrities Video
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