Nigeria’s importation of passenger motor cars rebounded strongly in 2025 as relative stability in the foreign exchange market eased pressure on dealers and buyers, according to foreign trade statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Data from the NBS showed that the value of passenger motor car imports rose to ₦1.01 trillion in the first nine months of 2025, compared with ₦894.09 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2024.
This represents an increase of ₦113.15 billion or 12.66 per cent year on year, signalling a clear turnaround after months of weak demand driven by currency volatility and rising landing costs. A closer examination of the quarterly figures shows that the recovery gathered momentum only in the second half of the year.
In the first quarter of 2025, passenger motor car imports were valued at ₦224.58 billion, down from ₦238.73 billion in the same period of 2024. This reflected a decline of ₦14.15 billion or about 5.9 per cent, indicating that importers were still grappling with the impact of earlier exchange rate instability.
The second quarter followed a similar trajectory. Imports stood at ₦254.67 billion between April and June 2025, compared with ₦291.93 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2024. The difference of ₦37.26 billion translated to a contraction of roughly 12.8 per cent, suggesting that caution persisted despite gradual improvements in FX liquidity.
The trend reversed sharply in the third quarter. Between July and September 2025, the value of passenger motor car imports jumped to ₦527.98 billion, from ₦363.42 billion in the same period of the previous year. This represented an increase of ₦164.56 billion or about 45.3 per cent, more than offsetting the declines recorded in the first half of the year and driving the overall nine-month growth.
Country-level data shows the scale of the rebound. In the first quarter of 2025, imports of used vehicles with diesel or semi-diesel engines and a cylinder capacity above 2,500cc from the United States were valued at ₦93.51 billion, making the United States Nigeria’s largest source of passenger vehicles in that period.
South Africa followed with ₦25.84 billion worth of vehicles for goods transport, while imports from Angola and Liberia were marginal. In the second quarter, imports from the United States remained elevated at ₦99.18 billion, while South Africa accounted for ₦21.43 billion.
Liberia and Equatorial Guinea contributed smaller values, reflecting limited volumes in those categories. The surge became more pronounced in the third quarter. Used diesel vehicles above 2,500cc imported from the United States alone were valued at ₦184.21 billion, nearly double the level recorded in the first quarter.
Additional imports included ₦38.15 billion worth of used vehicles with engine capacity between 1,500cc and 2,500cc from the US market. The United Arab Emirates also emerged as a key source, with imports valued at ₦13.67 billion, alongside ₦12.68 billion worth of petrol engine vehicles imported in completely knocked down form.
Vehicles traced to the U.S. were valued at about ₦415.05 billion in the first nine months of 2025, which means that the U.S. accounted for 41.21 per cent of Nigeria’s total passenger motor car imports during the period under review.
South Africa followed at a distant level, with total imports valued at ₦47.27 billion, representing 4.69 per cent of total imports for the period. The United Arab Emirates featured prominently in the third quarter, with imports totalling about N26.35bn, which was 2.62 per cent of the nine-month import value.
Overall, the data shows that while passenger motor car imports in the first half of 2025 were ₦51.41 billion lower than the same period of 2024, the third quarter alone exceeded its 2024 equivalent by ₦164.56 billion. This swing explains why the nine-month import value closed higher by more than ₦113 billion.
Analysts say the figures reflect renewed confidence among importers as exchange rate volatility eased and access to foreign exchange improved, even though vehicle prices remain high. The rebound in vehicle imports was consistent with developments in the foreign exchange market in the third quarter of 2025.
The PUNCH
