‘We must change Nigerians’ mentality on brand new cars’

 It is high time Nigerian vehicle owners and enthusiasts began to aspire to buy brand new cars given the peace of mind and the comfort involved.

General Manager, Suzuki by CFAO, Aissatou Diouf, said the auto firm was changing the mentality of Nigerians about brand new cars.

She said the figures of 500,000 and 12,000 sales for used vehicles and brand new respectively were unacceptable.

Speaking with our correspondent recently, Diouf explained that Suzuki by CFAO had put in place various initiatives to make acquisition of brand new vehicles seamless.

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Daily Trust reports that the used vehicles market is the biggest automobile market in Nigeria, popularly called Tokunbo market.

Given the high cost of purchasing brand new vehicles, many auto enthusiasts have opted for the Tokunbo market and the used vehicles segment.

Diouf, however, stated that there was the need to bridge the gap between the used vehicles market and the brand new segment of the industry.

She said brand new cars came with peace of mind, little or no expense on maintenance.

She said, “According to the figures we have, the brand new cars sell about 12,000 and the used cars are 500,000, we want to change that culture of using used cars.

 “We want to change the mentality, where Nigerians will be able to say I own a brand new car without any trouble, and make it comfortable through the incentives we are giving to them.”