The organisers of the West Africa Automotive Show (WAAS) says that all is set to bring West Africa’s automotive parts players under one roof in November.
The organisers of the show, BtoB Events, said on Friday in Lagos that Nigerian automotive businesses would be well represented considering that they represent 30 per cent of the exhibitors, while national pavilions like Morocco, China with small grouping like Thailand, Egypt and India among others.
BtoB Events Managing Director, Jamie Hill, said that hi-tech equipment would be brought to Nigeria.
“We have a wealth of international exhibitors looking to bring high tech equipment to Nigeria for the first time and a large number.
“There is also a real hunger to boost the local assembly of vehicles across the country with the 2013 National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP),” Hill said in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
“With more assembly plants being set up, this again significantly increases the demand for spare parts. We are committed to supporting Nigeria to reach its forecast of having 70 per cent of new cars sold being assembled or manufactured domestically by 2050.’’
According to Hill, WAAS has the official endorsement of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) and the show’s founding partner is Auto Spare Part and Machinery Distributors Association (ASPMDA).
“ASPMDA represents the largest spare part market across Africa and acts as the re-export hub for sub-Saharan Africa.
“No other country on the continent can boast a trade hub such as ASPMDA with over 20,000 member businesses, so Nigeria immediately positions itself as the most important for foreign exporters,’’ Hill said.
Mr Leonard Okoye, Secretary of the Foreign Trade and Investment Committee at ASPMDA, explained that “the association is supporting WAAS as an inroad to meet other manufacturers in the competitive market of automobile industry.
“The advice for stakeholders in the auto industry is that they should continue to attend all exhibitions because learning is a continuous process.’’
NAN reports that the organisers will draw up conferences during the two-day event, from Nov. 6 to Nov. 8 to support Nigerian companies at the exhibition to spotlight local businesses.
These conferences will create a platform for local companies to own their market share, increase exports and highlight that the Nigerian Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are not out of place among global companies.
There will also be an opportunity for local entrepreneurs to network with their overseas counterparts as all connected with the automotive spare parts services industry are free to attend.
Meanwhile, the show is still open to sponsors and exhibitors to register.
