He also said that the Japanese automaker would contribute to the growth of Nigeria’s economy through its unique technology.
According to Maruyama, Isuzu is strong in Nigeria in the commercial segment such as light duty trucks, and medium duty trucks as well as diesel-engine globally.
Maruyama, who spoke in Lagos late Wednesday during a working visit to Nigeria, said, “The Nigerian auto market is unique. We feel it has a lot of prospects and we want to stay here and be part of the development.
“We are here to promote new Japan-made diesel-engine trucks. This will help our customer’s businesses to grow; reduce their operational cost and downtime. It will also be the contribution of Isuzu to the economy of this country.”
He further stated that Nigeria being the largest economy in Africa with also its large population has a lot of opportunities for the auto business.
He said, “In 2023, our target is to increase our share in the Nigerian market, more than what we did last year.
“We started promoting the 3s philosophy last year; we are continuing with that this year. The 3s stands for sales, service and spare parts.”
In line with the directive of the Isuzu management, he said they had set up a team with the 3s to support its dealers’ operations.
“We want them to be more service-oriented in order to assist the customers. We send our team out to meet with the customers’ needs,” he added.
He also said Isuzu would focus on the local assembly of vehicles through its partner in Nigeria, Koncept Autocentre, because of its huge benefits.
He said, “For us, local auto assembly is important. This will help to develop the local industry fast. Through this, we will have a lot of component/spare part suppliers in the local market. More employment opportunities will also be created and it will boost the national economy.”
He said the Isuzu team assisted its Nigerian partners to set up the assembly plant operation, adding, “We also asked the team to train some specialists that will continue to work at the plant for production. We provide assembly manual that could be easily understood by the local workers.”
“Our management is determined to provide quality commercial vehicles to contribute to the world economy and help our customers business to grow well; our strength in diesel-engine vehicles will contribute to the economic growth and serve our customer needs immensely,” he added.
Speaking on the Isuzu’s plans to increase its market share, the Executive Vice President, Vehicle Sales (Sub-Saharan Africa), Geoffrey Mulandi, said “our strategy is to get closer to our customers. This will enable us to hear their voices and we are able to address their needs. We have promotional activities that enable us to reach out to the customers and get to understand them better.”
Managing Director, Auto, Kewalram Chanrai Group, Anil Sahgal, while speaking on Isuzu unique selling point, said, “At Isuzu, we want our products to speak for us. That is the reason that every day and night, they work on new product development to meet customer needs.
“We have products for customers’ needs and they are designed with high quality, best performance and efficiency. That is unique to us.
“People always say we are diesel-technology experts for the need and efficiency of the customers. That is why Isuzu has maintained its leadership in this market.”
