Foremost industrialist and Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing Company Limited (IVM), Chief Innocent Chukwuma, has been named Nigeria’s Auto Personality of the Year.
He was bestowed with the honour in Lagos for numerous contributions to the automotive industry including pioneering the manufacture of Compressed Natural Gas-powered vehicles in Nigeria, according to the Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA), organiser of the annual auto industry awards at the ceremony held recently.
It would be recalled that Chukwuma started the production of CNG vehicles about two years before subsidy was removed from premium motor spirit (PMS) popularly known as petroleum. CNG thus became the preferred and popular alternative to petrol and diesel with Nigeria leveraging the abundant gas reserve.
Innoson in a statement revealed that as of May 29, 2023 when the federal government declared that subsidy had gone, Innoson had about 100 units of the CNG vehicles on its premises in Nnewi, Anambra State, in addition to those already delivered to customers in some parts of the country.
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“Moreover, Innoson demonstrated long ago that it had the capacity and facility to convert vehicles currently running on petrol and diesel to CNG, even though the service is restricted to IVM customers,” it added.
The automaker has embarked on the construction of a much bigger multi-billion-naira IVM plant annex covering about 300 plots of land in Nnewi, and is likely to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2024 to concentrate on manufacturing auto-gas vehicles.
Innoson also won the Auto Assembly Plant of the Year at the event.
Commenting on the award, General Manager, Sales & Marketing, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Co. Ltd, Nnewi, Obum Osigwe, who represented Chukwuma at the event said, “I wholeheartedly on behalf of my boss and chairman, Chief (Dr) Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma, CON, accept this prestigious award for the manufacturing plant of the year.
“We are grateful for this honour and we will keep doing our best for our country to put her on the world map.
“I would like to thank the organisers (NAJA) for this honour. Thank you for shedding light on the activities of auto manufacturers in Nigeria.
“We are immensely grateful because without you, Nigerians won’t know our toils and travails in manufacturing world standard vehicles for the citizens of our country and Africa in general. Thank you so much and God bless our nation, Nigeria.”