Low duties drive Toyota imports in Nigeria

Low duty payments on imported smaller Toyota-branded vehicles, durability, and low maintenance costs have pushed up the brand’s importation into the country compared with other car brands, The NGGOSSIPS reports.

Findings by our correspondent revealed that although most vehicles from 2015 below still pay almost the same duty, Toyota brands appear cheaper when you consider the cost of purchasing them overseas and clearing them, among other charges, while other brands, including Mercedes-Benz and other luxury brands, are slightly more expensive.

The Apapa Chapter Chairman of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, Abayomi Duyile, while admitting that the Toyota brand records the highest imports, attributed the figures to the brand’s cost efficiency.

“Toyota leads the pack because it is easy to maintain. The duty is the same rate for all cars of the same year. But cars like Mercedes-Benz, among others, are high-end vehicles.

“Vehicles like Jaguar, Rolls-Royce, and all those are high-end vehicles. So they will still pay higher duty rates compared to other brands. I think among the Toyota brands, Lexus is really a bit higher too. The Toyota brand of cars is also easy to maintain. The major reason, you know, like Nigerians, they are sold on Toyota products,” Duyile stated.

He added that people who buy Mercedes-Benz mostly do so for the sake of showing off.

 “They prefer Mercedes-Benz because it’s costlier than Toyota. So they brag about Benz. You see the scenario now. You know, Benz is costlier than the Toyota brand,” he stated.

Also speaking, a chieftain of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, Mr Ugochukwu Nnadi, explained that though vehicles from 2015 downwards pay the same duty, Toyota brands have a different class of smaller cars, which makes them the most imported in Nigeria.

“Like from 2015 and below, they all pay the same duty across the board. There is no difference. But the thing is that Toyota has a big array of very small brands, very small models.

“Like you have the Yaris, you have the Matrix, you have the Corolla. So, by the time we bring these out, because of the purchasing power of most Nigerians, they are in higher demand. Toyota cars are in higher demand because of the low value and the ruggedness of the product,” he stated.

The National President of the Association of Motor Dealers of Nigeria, Mr Ajibola Adedoyin, while admitting that the Toyota brand of cars still records the highest number of sales, attributed the reasons to: “The simple reason is just because of the durability and the low fuel consumption. Those are the two major things: durability, low consumption, and easy maintenance. Toyota is the major product that you sell most to Nigerians.”