The President of Coscharis Group, Cosmas Maduka, has won the prestigious Auto Personality of the Year award in Nigeria.
The award held in Lagos saw other leading companies and stakeholder winning several laurels at the event.
The Managing Director of Toyota Nigeria Limited was selected as the CEO of the year while the late Executive Director of Nigeria Auto Manufacturers Association, Arthur Madueke, was given a posthumous award for his contributions to the auto industry.
But the high point of the awards was the naming of resilient auto manufacturing group, Peugeot Assembly of Nigeria (PAN) whose flagship product, Peugeot 301 emerged as Nigeria’s car of the year.
The feat seems to have ended the runs by Kia Rio, which clinched the coveted prize last year.
The Nigeria-assembled 301 was named the new winner in Lagos following the majority votes it received from new vehicle enthusiasts in Nigeria that participated in the selection process that also involved online voting.
Peugeot 301 beat Toyota Corolla and Nissan Almera in the 2016 car of the year contest, according to Naja, the organisers of the annual Nigerian auto awards.
However, all the three cars were also finalists in the 2015 contest along with Kia Rio, which was eventually won by the Rio.
The Chairman of Naja, Mr. Frank Kintum, said the contest was not peculiar to Nigeria as it had become a tradition globally, adding that it had brought about healthy rivalry among automobile brands in different countries including South Africa as well as European, Asian and American nations.
According to him, the competition has also led to the improvement in the relationship between automakers/dealers and buyers through improved after-sale service.
Kintum said, “In arriving at the eventual winners, we have carefully evaluated all nominees and have been assisted by some auto customers and industry stakeholders. Interestingly, in order to make the awards more interactive and involve the motoring public, we decided to allow members of the public to participate by way of voting online.”
The Acting Commissioner for Transportation, Lagos State, Anofiu Elegushi, who spoke on the need for cooperation among the stakeholders in the automotive/transport industry for speedy economic rejuvenation, said “to begin to invest in the Nigerian car. We are long overdue for such. There are a few of such (cars) in Nigeria. While we import most cars as Semi-knocked down or such other forms we bring them in, we must now commence a process of investing in building local content into it.”
On other categories, Mercedes Benz S-Class emerged the luxury car of the year, a category in which the BMW 7-Series and Jaguar XJ were nominated.
The pickup of the year went to Ford Ranger; Toyota Hiace received the mini bus of the year award; while the heavy truck of the year was won by Mercedes Actros.
Globe Hyundai and Jet Van Mercedes were joint winners in the outstanding new entrant of the year category; just as God is Good Motors took away the prize of the most safety conscious transport company of the year.
The show room of the year prize was given to Nissan show room, Victoria Island (Lagos), while Pirelli was crowned the tyre brand of the year.
Chisco Transport was recognised as the West African Coast Transport Company of the Year, while Yamaha was voted motorcycle brand of the year.
The Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, Boboye Oyeyemi, was awarded the road safety personality of the year;
Besides, Peugeot said over 360,000 units of the 301 had been sold, just as it disclosed that it had unveiled its face-lifted sedan, showing a new face and equipment.
