VON Automobile Nigeria Limited has restored the lost glory of Volkswagen of Nigeria, as the once moribund automobile firm is now a car manufac-turing plant.
This revolution in Nigeria’s automobile industry, according to the Managing Director, VON Automobile Nigeria, Mr Tokunbo Aromolaran, started less than a year ago after two decades of closure.
The auto firm’s boss made this known during a during a recent media tour of the Lagos-based automobile company.
According to him, “the mission was to actualise the vision of the new investors, The Stallion Group of Companies, of developing a state of the art auto plant that would rival the best in its class and serve as a base for realising the dreams of the host country in industrialising its economy.
Production going on at the assembly plant of VON Automobile Nigeria, situated at the Mile 2 area along Badagry Expressway, Lagos.
Picture: Production going on at the assembly plant of VON Automobile Nigeria, situated at the Mile 2 area along Badagry Expressway, Lagos.
As a result of this new development, Aromolaran said the first Nigeria made bus has been produced by VON Automobile Nigeria.
He informed that his company commenced its trial run in November 2011 and production which commenced afterwards has since stabilised.
In the first phase, he said the company is producing City buses of the Ashok Leyland brand.
“Three models are in production, the Falcon, a 42-seater, 100 capacity city bus that has been tried and tested on Lagos roads as part of the BRT bus project and The Hawk, a 31-seater 85 capacity bus attracting attention of bus operators on narrow Lagos roads, and The Eagle, a 28-seater bus, popular among institutions and corporate bodies. The company has put up a versatile assembly plant with a current capacity of 2,000 buses per annum, expandable with minimal effort.
Phase 2 of the project will entail the production of commercial trucks and pick-up vans in an ultra-modern plant with an annual capacity of 15,000 vehicles,” Aromolaran said.
Items billed for production in the second phase, according to the MD will include the Volkswagen, Hyundai and Foton brands of commercial vehicles.
He said the plant is scheduled to commence production in the third quarter of 2012, while noting that “the company has experienced favourable comments on the quality of its buses in the short space of time since production commenced.
“The buses were indeed highly sought- after by transport operators during the bus procurement exercise embarked upon by the Federal Government in its effort to cushion the impact of partial removal of petroleum subsidy.
“This was a testimony to the ruggedness and functionality of the vehicles and its compatibility with our road conditions.
“It has proven to be the most successful of the models employed in the successful BRT Mass Transit Scheme introduced by the Lagos State government and continues to be in high demand by other states desirous of introducing a bus transit service,” Aromolaran said.
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