Nigerian auto firm, Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN), has entered into a technical agreement with Chinese Automobile Firm, Changan Automotive Manufacturing Company, to flood Nigeria with new middle-class and affordable vehicles, according to the privately-owned Guardian newspaper.
Quoting a statement from PAN at the weekend, the Guardian said the Nigerian company “is set to reassert its position as the country’s leading automobile manufacturer, having concluded plans to diversify its brand portfolio, which will see to the mass production of the ALSVIN model, a brand of the Chongqing Changan Automobile China.”
It quoted the Chairman Board of Directors of PAN, Alhaji Sani Dauda, who led top management of the company to China, as saying: “PAN will initially produce about 3,000 units of the ALSVIN from its Kaduna plant in 2012 with production target expected to increase annually”.
The Nigerian automobile company has completed full-scale installation of the factory lines for the production of the ALSVIN, which according to the PAN boss, comes with an engine capacity of 1.5 litres, the paper reported.
“The decision to diversify into multi-brand is market driven as it is hinged on the need to produce affordable vehicles within the reach of the middle class in the country,” Dauda said.
