Carlos Ghosn, Chief Executive Officer of Nissan Motors has announced plans by the company to roll out the first made in Nigeria 4 X 4 Sport Utility Vehicle, SUV in April 2014.
He said the company would use the old Volkswagen Assembly plant owned by its partners to produce the cars.
Ghosn disclosed this on Thursday during a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan on the sides of the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Ghosn who said that it was possible to produce two to three million cars in Nigeria annually with the consequent creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs, told the President that Nissan intends to increase its investment in Nigeria and establish its own vehicle production plants in the country.
"We are interested in producing popular cars, totally adapted to the needs of Nigerians," he said.
He added that the company also plans to bring its global suppliers to make vehicle components in the country.
Ghosn applauded the Nigerian Government's new automotive policy, saying that it would encourage the inflow of investments and technical expertise to boost domestic vehicle production.
Welcoming the Nissan group's investment in vehicle production in Nigeria, President Jonathan noted that all investors in local automobile production in the country would have a huge ready market for their products.
"The automobile industry in Nigeria has a huge potential for growth. The market is not just Nigeria, but the entire West African region," the President told the Nissan group.
Jonathan said that a key objective of the new policy was to make new cars affordable to more Nigerians.
"The only way to reduce the preponderance of second hand cars on our roads is to produce good quality cars with affordable pricing locally," the President said.
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