Uncharted Realms and Xenophobia

Car ownership during the early evolution of combustion engines was very low, ownership then symbolises wealth and status. According to Rac Foundation (2008) car ownership has steadily increased from the 1990’s to the present day due to several factors like, rise in population, which lead to increase in households and economic prosperity. The report further projected thirty per cent increase in people with driving licence by 2020.

Records show by 1900 motor cars in the U.K numbered two thousand, by 1904 it reached over eight thousand (Castrol, 1974). This trend drastically increased to 4, 8 and 19 million in 1950, 1960 and 1980 respectively (see table 3.5), when cheaper, more economical cars were produced (Department for Transport, 2012).

Car ownership showed a remarkable increase to thirty one million in 2007 however, perhaps due to the world recession, car ownership reduced to 29.1 million, Rac Foundation (2008) with a projection of over 44 million cars by 2020.

These records include licence cars and those that are termed as temporary off the road (Rac Foundation, 2008). household has remained 44% since the 1960’s RAC foundation (2008). Although the number of car ownership consisted of a large number of those who own more

than one car (Exploring 20th Century London). However, households that do not own cars are occupied by a single person, sometimes those households will split to own separate houses thereby necessitating the need for more cars. The economic prosperity encouraged more people in the UK to own driving licence which also led to increase in desire for car ownership. Reports show approximately 34 million people living in the UK own a driving licence (RAC foundation 2008).

Apart from the choice of buying a new car, a large number of the UK population chose to buy used cars. According to RAC foundation (2008), sales of used cars are three times higher than that of new cars. The UK consumer in contrast to other European economies has more preference for used car which in many instances are traded due to mileage and age. Accordingly, studies show an annual sale of more than seven million used cars which is three times higher than that of new one RAC foundation (2008).

Apart from private cars, the UK car ownership has a substantial number of company cars. As the economy matured and more businesses were established, cars were bought to serve the business purposes which ultimately increased the level of car ownership. Companies that do business require cars to conduct their day to day business for efficiency and convenience. A high number of new cars (approximately half) of the UK market are done by companies who need cars for their businesses. This high ownership of cars by companies and their short period of ownership of around two to three years might perhaps be the reason for high number of used cars in the market.

In order to encourage purchase of fuel efficient, new cars, the UK government in 1992 introduced incentives to bring this plan to reality. Environmental issues were raised to reduce or remove older cars that emit smog and pollute the environment from roads. Scrap cars for cash or replacement for car were put in place to encourage this plan. This reduced the number of old cars by a considerable number giving way for new improved engines. Older cars that have been used for

years and its owner feels he/she do not regard them as scrap are regarded as vintage cars which are used on rare occasions with higher tax placed on them.

Moreover, the UK car owners have a varied taste of the type of cars they would like to own. According to Gasnier (2016); Saarinen, (2016) Ford Focus is the favourite car model, followed by Vauxhall Corsa, Ford Fiesta, Volkswagen Golf and Nissan Qashqai respectively. Similarly, ten cars have over one million new registrations for the year 2015. Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa, Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf, and Nissan Qashqai have the highest number of car usage in the UK with the first five accounting for about forty six per cent. Table 3.6 shows the favourite cars according to their ranking.

Table 3.6: The UK’s most favourite cars

Order of priority Car models Registrations

1. Ford Fiesta 133,434

2. Vauxhall Corsa 92,077

3. Ford Focus 83,816

4. Volkswagen Golf 73,409

5. Nissan Qashqai 60,814

6. Volkswagen Polo 54,900

7. Vauxhall Astra 52,703

8. Audi A3 47,653

9. Mini 47,076

10. Vauxhall Mokka 45,399

The automotive industry in Nigerian commenced with cars first brought into the country around the 1940s which were mostly used by the British, the wealthy Nigerians who did business with the British, and the traditional title holders living in the major towns. Mostly cars were used around the Lagos area then with improvement of the road network to towns across the country it was gradually been accepted as a means of transport and an alternative to the railway that had

existed decades earlier. By the 1940s car ownership comprised only fifteen individuals which mostly included the British.

Nigeria is a country that is highly dependent on cars as a means of transport. This is further supported by the dwindling railway system and the struggling domestic airline sector has made road transport the best alternative for private and business use. This reflects on the level of demand for car ownership in the country which is very high coupled with the poor state of public transportation. To many Nigerian household Car ownership is not about prestige but about necessity, a large number of household buy a car for nothing else but for their everyday needs. Records from National Bureau of Statistics shows an average of 0.8 per household in the middle class and an estimate of forty five per cent households in the middle class are not car owners.

The Nigerian automobile industry has been in business since the 1960s. Currently there are two car assembly plants in Nigeria, Peugeot Automobile Nigeria and Volkswagen of Nigeria (VON) located in Kaduna State and Lagos respectively, which assemble almost one hundred thousand cars per annum (National Automotive Council, 2014). In addition to this there are four truck plants in various locations across the country which is operating at low capacity and various automobile body parts manufacturers. According to the Director General of National Automotive Council, the automobile market in Nigeria has an approximate size of £1.8 billion (Nnabugwu, 2013). Presently there is an annual import of approximately 50,000 new and 150,000 used cars into the country, with passenger cars worth close to £1.2 billion (Ademigbuji, 2013).

This large proportion of used cars imported into the country mostly by the middle class approximately thirty eight million, Mamudu (2013) is an indication that with positioning and persuasion they will in turn buy cars assembled in Nigeria. An improvement of the car industry will channel these demand to new, more reliable cars. Despite the long period of being in the country the automotive industry faced many challenges resulting in its setback. Oigiagbe et al. (2012) offered several factors that contributed to this; lack of consistent policies by the government, the

Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) policy introduced in the 1980s leading to gradual eradication of the middle class and increase reliance on imported cars.

In order to revive the automobile sector to be more attractive and profitable the Nigerian Government in 2013 introduced a National Automobile policy. This policy will encourage influx of numerous car manufacturers into the country, boost manufacture of local vehicle while eventually stopping import of used cars.

Car registration first started in 1945 with introduction of requirement for all vehicles to be registered if they are to be used in Nigerian roads. Over time cars gradually increased in number from the first registration of 2,700 in 1945 to 2.8 million cars in 1999, this number gradually increased to over twelve million by the year 2011. Table 3.7 shows number of cars registered in Nigeria from 1945 to 2011. Due to strict laws, encouraging car registration there was a sharp rise.

However, there are still a substantial number of cars in Nigeria especially in rural areas that are not registered.

Table 3.7: Registered cars in Nigeria

Year 1945 1999 2004 2007 2011

Number of

vehicles

2,700 2.8 million 5.8 million 7.0 million 12.6 million