By ADEJUWON OSUNNUYI
French car giant, Groupe Renault has concluded plans to assemble two low-cost vehicles in Nigeria via a joint venture with the local conglomerate, Coscharis Group.
Renault, which claims an 18 percent share of the African auto market, wants to “respond to the demand of the new emerging middle class of the countries like Nigeria,” which has a population of more than 200 million people, the statement said.
The Logan and Duster models are to “be assembled in the existing Coscharis assembly facility in Lagos starting October 2019,” Renault said.
Coscharis is active in several sectors of the Nigerian economy, including autos, information technologies, logistics, agriculture, food, real-estate and health.
It began to assemble vehicles in late 2015 and has created a sales network across the country that includes five dealerships in Lagos.
Renault plans to import two other models, the entry-level crossover Kwid, and the Oroch pickup that is based on the Duster, from Brazil. All are to be distributed by Coscharis.
Renault is aiming initially for a five-percent share of the Nigerian market, or around 900 registrations a year, a spokeswoman told AFP. The French group already has a strong presence in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and South Africa.
Coscharis Group established in 1977 is a reputable wholly owned Nigerian conglomerate with interests in various sectors of the economy which include Automobile, Information and communications technology, Logistics, Agriculture, Food & Beverages, Properties, Health amongst others representing globally respected iconic brands in Nigeria.
The group has branches across Nigeria and in three West African countries. It presently has automobile sales and service dealerships in all the geo-political zones in Nigeria with 5 outlets in Lagos alone, which is the commercial nerve of the Nigerian economy.
With the intent to support the growth of the Nigerian automotive industry in Nigeria, Coscharis Motors Assembly Ltd, established in 2014, commenced assembling of vehicles and rolled out its first batch in November 2015.
Speaking during the official signing of the partnership and announcement of the Coscharis Group and Groupe Renault SKD plant in Lekki, Lagos, President of Coscharis Group, Dr. Cosmas Maduka, CON, said the partnership is to showcase another initiative from the great organization through one of its subsidiaries, Coscharis Motors Plc, to create value as a key player in the automobile industry in Nigeria.
“We are indeed glad to celebrate the confidence the renowned brand, Renault reposed in us to represent them in Nigeria. This milestone marks another step in the evolution of the company towards remaining timeless in its relevance.
“A few years ago, we showed courage by our action when we invested huge sums of money in setting up a world class ultra – modern assembly plant in the country to demonstrate the confidence reposed in the future of the country and our faith in the possibilities inherent in the automotive policy of the federal government of Nigeria.
“That bold step, among other landmark achievements in the Nigerian Automotive industry, has endeared us to many forward looking global organizations and this partnership with Groupe Renault is just one of the manifestations of this,” Maduka submitted.
According to him, “With the official announcement of this partnership, we shall be offering four variants of the Renault brand into the Nigerian market in the first instance. Two of the variants, Logan and Duster, will be assembled locally here in this plant in SKD (Semi-Knocked Down). As time goes on, both the Renault Kwid and Renault Oroch will be added to the Renault line.”
