Honda HR-V Emerges NAJA Car of The Year, Toyota, Coscharis, Mikano, Mercedes-Benz, Others Win Big

Bennett  Oghifo

Honda HR-V has emerged Car-of-the-Year at the 2023 Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA) Awards that took place in Lagos this week.

The awards was attended by all the known automotive dealerships and assemblers in Nigeria, including most of their Chief Executive Officers and top management staff.

The Director General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Joseph Osanipin, who was the Guest Speaker, challenged the distinguished stakeholders in the automotive industry attending the event, saying, “What is the future of the automotive industry? And by now, we should be looking at the industry and be taking steps towards that future we desire. We need to challenge ourselves now.”

The NADDC Director General said, the federal government has played its part by establishing the Nigerian Automotive Policy and that the policy will work only if the stakeholders in the automotive industry implement it.

Osanipin said, “The government can come up with a policy, yes, the policy can come, but majorly, the practitioners and the stakeholders are the ones to implement whatever policy is put in place and if the policy will work or not, depends on us.

“What that means is, we are the ones that will determine where the automotive sector is going in Nigeria and I challenge all of us to now start thinking what we can do differently to bridge the gap. We have a lot of gaps in the system. What can we do to start bringing the gap? What can we do to increase the capacity, our local production of vehicles? We need to start working towards that. Let us strategise and come up with what we can do and do better.”

He then urged the NAJA to include an award category for ‘Award of Components Parts Manufacturer of the year’, saying, “You know, without the components, you cannot have the whole. Components come together to make the whole. So please, let us start thinking about the whole. How can we start developing these components, because this is how we can grow our local contents. If we can do that, encourage them the way we encourage the big guys we will achieve our desired goal. Let us start encouraging the little guys so that we can pull them up. What can we do? What can we start sourcing locally to add to our local contents? We have a lot of things that can be sourced locally to add to our local contents.

“We have foams that we use for your chairs, we have plastics, you have glass that you use for your mirror, your windscreen. Let us start thinking.”

About the awards, he said, “In any competition like this, only one person will win the award for a particular category.

We have all done well and I hope we will do better in the future.”

The winners at the 2023 NAJA Awards are:

.Car of The Year 

Winner is Honda HR-V

.Budget Car of the Year

Winner: Suzuki S-Presso

.Auto Design of the Year

Winner: Changan Uni-K

.Heavy Duty Truck of the Year

Winner: JAC by Lanre Shittu Motors

.Assembly Plant of the Year

Winner: Innoson

.Luxury Brand of the Year: Mercedes-Benz

.Auto Workshop of the Year

Winner: RT Briscoe

.Large SUV Of The Year

Winner: Toyota Land Cruiser

.Luxury SUV of the Year

Winner: Range Rover Autobiography)

.Pick Up Of The Year

Winner: Toyota Hilux

.Most Innovative Auto Company:  Mikano

.Truck Plant Of The Year: Lanre Shittu (JAC plant)

.Online Auto Finance facilitator:  Autochek

.Minibus of the Year: Winner: Toyota Hiace

.Most Resilient Auto Company – Recognition

A) Stallion Motors

B) Coscharis Motors

.Transport Company of the Year: GUO

.Auto Showroom of the Year: Mikano

.Enterprising Indigenous car company of the Year

NORD

.New Entrant Auto Company/Model

1) Jetour

2) Toyota By CFAO

3) Ford Territory

4) Jet Lander

.Compact SUV of the Year

Joint winners are:

Changan CS35

Kia Sonet

.Indigenous Passenger Bus of the Year

Jet Mover

.Multi Brand Auto Workshop of the Year

Fixit 45

.Outstanding E-Commercial Advert of the Year:

Mitsubishi Outlander

.Outstanding Print Auto Advert of the Year:

JETOUR

.Outstanding Auto Customer Service of the Year

Massilia Motors

.Luxury Car of the Year

Mercedes-Benz S-Class

.Outstanding Comeback if the Year

Chery By Carloha

Personality Recognitions

.Outstanding GM of the Year Suzuki – Aissatou Diouf, GM Suzuki By CFAO

.Autogas vehicle promoter of the year

NGEP Chairman Dr Mohammed Ibrahim

.Auto Personality of The Year

Chief Innocent Chukwuma (Founder/Chairman of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing.