Innoson vehicle manufacturing has been a trending topic for the past few weeks. Big Brother Naija winner was gifted with a brand new Innoson G80 SUV to acknowledging a design of IVM logo created by Farouq Osuolale, an undergraduate of the University of Ibadan, to the recent procurement of 100 vehicles by Enugu state government. Indeed, Innoson vehicle manufacturing has proven to be a blossoming brand.

For the benefit of readers who are hearing about Innoson for the first time, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Co. Ltd., shortened as IVM, is a Nigerian automobile manufacturing company. IVM is owned by Innocent Chukwuma, who runs a plant in Nnewi in the state of Anambra. 70% of the automobile parts are made locally, while 30% are sourced from Japan, China, and Germany.

Some benefit of driving an Innoson vehicles are:

– Rugged performance

– Fuel economy

– Low chances of overheating

– Re-enforced shock absorb

– 3 years warranty

– Readily available spare parts

Innoson vehicle manufacturing IVM as a brand is faced with healthy competition from foreign brands like Toyota, Honda, Mercedes, and a host of other brands. It is a well-known fact that majority of Nigerians cannot afford to purchase brand new cars, so they opt for used foreign cars known as Tokunbo. Listed below are some effective ways through which IVM could get on top of its competition.

Pricing

Breaking into the market and eradicating the use of used cars in Nigeria is the primary aim of IVM. Pricing is the most effective way to achieve this objective. IVM has to tailor their pricing policy to conform with the average annual income of the citizen to enhance ownership of vehicles.

Note, there is a huge misconception as regards Innoson vehicles being expensive; clearly, this is wrong information. However, payment schemes should be included to enhance patronage.

A quick comparison between the price of Innoson vehicles with the costs of popular foreign brand new car

CARS	INNOSON FOX	N7,665,000	HYUNDIA SANTA FE	N14,000,000
	INNOSON UMU	N8,000,000	2019 TOYOTA CORROLLA	N13,500,000
SUV	INNOSON G5	N12,390,000	2019 TOYOTA RAV 4	N11,807,968
	INNOSON G6	N12,915,000	2018 INFINITI QX60	N14,010,891
	INNOSON G80	N27,825,000	2019 TOYOTA LAND CRUISER PRADO	N26,500,000
	INNOSON G40	N17,325,000	2019 LEXUS RX 350	N19,800,000
PICK UP TRUCKS	INNOSON CARRIER 4X4	N13,860,000	2019 TOYOTA HILUX 4X4	N19,000,000
	INNOSON CARRIER 4X2	N9,400,000	2019 TOYOTA HILUX 4X2	N11,860,560
BUSES	INNOSON 5000	N9,400,000	TOYOTA HIACE	N9,000,000
	INNOSON 6601	N22,995,000	TOYOTA COASTER	N24,000,000
	INNOSON 6857	N27,700,000	TATA STARBUS ULTRA	N31,000,000

Collaboration

A take-home vehicle or company car is a vehicle, which companies or organizations lease or own and which employees use for their personal and business travel. The provision of a company car for private use as a benefit may be attractive for both the employee and the employer. It has been regular practice for corporate organizations to issue out official cars to staff; the method has been scaled down since the increase in price of new vehicles in Nigeria.

IVM needs to collaborate with corporate organizations in a bid to create demands for IVM vehicles as official cars, staff bus, and other utility vehicles.

Ride-Hailing Services

In sub-Saharan Africa, Bolt (formerly known as Taxify) and Uber compete. Now operating in more cities across Nigeria and expanding to Owerri, Benin city, and Ibadan, since Bolt arrival in the country, the two ride-hailing apps have always locked horns using different marketing tactics and to attract users. The use of IVM vehicles for ride-hailing organizations like Uber and Taxify will further assist IVM break into the market. The use of Innoson cars like IVM Fox and UMU will also popularize the brand.

Luxury Line

Although Nigeria has 20% of her population living below $1 per day, Nigeria still has millions of extremely wealthy people, little wonder why a lot of luxury vehicles such as Lamborghini Gallardo, Mercedes-Benz E63, BMW M3 are being spotted all across Nigeria. Building a luxury line of IVM Sport cars and SUVs will create an increase in the productivity and profitability of the IVM brand.

Installment payment & Financial Support

Modern countries have a popular option for customers who cannot pay the full price for the product (car, consumer electronics, house, etc.) at once. It is called installment payment or a series of payments made within a particular period.

The seller (bank or private financial organization) pays off the full price on the buyer’s end, and the buyer pays that price along with percentage on top of it to the seller. Such payments are made in installments, according to the seller-buyer agreement. Installment loan sometimes is called an add-on loan and is different from a simple interest structured auto loan.

An installment loan is more convenient because the total interest amount is calculated at the very beginning, but you should be ready that this type of loan can cost you more than the usual car loan.

The lack of access to funds to buy new cars is the primary reason for the patronage of used vehicles and Grey import. IVM should make partnerships with banks and other financial institutions to provide car loans to customers and watch demand for their products skyrocket.