Mitsubishi may establish an assembly plant in Nigeria in 2016, reports the Pretoria News. The newspaper's report quoted Mitsubishi's regional head, Anand Singh, as saying the company has started processes to set up an automobile assembly in Nigeria. "It's still in negotiation – you can say in the third round out of 10. We have identified the land. Now we are waiting for some clearances from customs, finance ministry… so that's the status," he said.
Significance: Automakers including Hyundai, Kia, and Nissan have already recently begun or are planning to establish assembly operations in the country. Last week, Ford announced it has started local assembly of Ranger pickup trucks in Nigeria. Following the enforcement of the new National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) by the Nigerian government in 2013, various automakers have begun assembly operations in Nigeria. The NAIDP raised duties on imports of completely built-up (CBU) units in Nigeria sharply to 70% from 20%. This increase was intended to discourage vehicle imports in the country and encourage local production.
