The Toyota brand has carved a niche for itself in Nigeria for more than three decades. Before this period, Toyota, like other Japanese brands, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Honda were looked down on as brands for people in the lower echelon of the society.
At that time, Nigerians were only interested in European and American brands such as Peugeot, Volkswagen, Volvo, and Mercedes Benz, with American models like Ford, General Motors, Chrysler competing strongly with the European brands.
However, the arrival of the Japanese brands spearheaded by Toyota changed the equation later on. It should be recalled that even in the 1970’s Toyota dealership in Nigeria was perceived as a wrong investment by many until the legend of Nigeria auto industry, Chief Michael Ade Ojo, through his company Elizade Motors came into the business of Toyota.
He was followed by companies like Wextex and Globe Motors while Honda Place, THP, Allens Motors, John Holt and Kewalrams responded with Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi.
To prove that these Japanese cars were not reckoned with then, none of them was considered by the Federal Government when it set up plants to produce passenger cars, buses, and trucks. In establishing these plants, Peugeot and Volkswagen were set up to produce passenger cars, small pickups and mini-buses while Mercedes Truck Manufacturers were set up to produce large buses, trucks and tractors.
This goes a long way to confirm that Japanese brands were not recognised then as good enough for the Nigerian market. The narrative changed when these agents of change brought in Japanese models that were not only efficient and durable but also luxurious and highly economical. Since then Toyota has never ceased to take the lead by dominating the market with its array of models both in the new and used car market segments.
At the moment, eight out of every 10 passenger cars on Nigerian roads is either a Toyota or Lexus (Toyota family). These include models like Starlet, Corolla, Camry, Avensis, Avalon, RAV4, Highlander, Matrix, Venza, Prado, Land Cruiser, 4Runner, Hilux, Tacoma, Hiace, Dyna, Sienna while Lexus models such as Lexus 300, 330, 350, 460, 470 (sedans and SUV) rule the luxury vehicle segment.
Toyota models like Crown, Corona, Cresida, Carina 1 and II, Celica paved the way for Toyota’s dominance when they were introduced earlier into the country. They did well in terms of reliability, fuel efficiency relatability, durability, comfort and safety which made the brand the most sought after in Nigeria. Today, the dominance of Toyota brand has made some people refer to Toyota as a native of Nigeria, a position that Peugeot used to enjoy in the past.
Vanguard Motoring went to town to find out from mechanics, car dealers and private individuals why Toyota has dominated the Nigerian roads. According to Henry Ogbonna, an auto mechanic who specialises in Japanese and German brands, the success of Toyota in Nigeria cuts across so many areas including ease of maintenance, economy and efficiency of the brand, durability and resale value.