GREY MARKET CARS IN NIGERIA.
Do You know what Grey Market Cars are?
Grey Market Cars are new or used motor vehicles Legally imported from another country through channels other than the Car-maker's official distribution system. The synonymous term parallel import is sometimes substituted.
Car makers frequently arbitrage markets, setting the price according to local market conditions so the same vehicle will have different real prices in different territories. Grey import vehicles circumvent this profit maximization strategy. Car makers and local distributors sometimes regard grey imports as a threat to their network of franchised dealerships, but independent distributors don't mind since more cars of an odd brand bring in money from service and spare parts..
IN LAYMAN TERMS, This means that Grey Market Cars are cars Imported into a country by Dealers not Authorized or Franchised by the Car-Brand in question to sell them, They are Cars bought brand new or fairly-used by independent dealers and sold in countries that they're not meant to be sold in so as to achieve financial gain
Though not illegal in Nigeria, in some countries, such as Vietnam, the import of grey-market vehicles has largely been banned. Grey Market Cars are sort of a blessing in Nigeria and at the same time a curse. They are blessings in the sense that people can buy cars not offered here by Authorized delears or if offered, then at a cheaper price than the ones sold locally by Authorized dealers. Grey Market Cars from the United States of America also come as Standard with features not offered on their Nigerian counterparts.
Now in that same Vein, Grey imports are a curse because most of these cars are not meant for the country and so are sold by private dealers as Tokunboh Cars with No-Warranty. (''Tokunboh'' is the Yoruba word for ''imported'' so it not be confused to mean ''Used'' as the cars can also be imported ''brand new''). These Cars on the premise that they are not meant for Nigeria, have no spare-parts avilable to the consumers and when these parts are available, they are fairly-used parts sold at the popular Ladipo Market and stripped from other used Grey-Market accidented or stolen vehicles that have been imported from either Belgium or the more popular United States.. A simple way of detecting Grey Market Vehicles from the USA is their Amber(orange colored) side-Marker Lights. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of America stipulates by Law that all Vehicles sold in North America must come Equipped with Amber(Orange) Side Marker Lights that are illuminated upon ignition as well as other things such as a Catalytic Converter. These laws are stipulated only in the USA and Canada so anytime You see a Vehicle with Side-Marker Lights, be sure that it's From The USA. Offcourse there are Cars meant only for the Japanese Market too and many other countries such as the Toyota Celsior, which is a rebadged Lexus LS sold only in Japan, but here in Nigeria, Tokunbohs, wether brand new or used, are mainly from the USA.
Below is a list of Ten Vehicles flooding the Nigerian market that are meant and built strictly for the USA market.
1. All Acuras- Acura, even though owned by Honda, is a US company. It is Hondas luxury vehicle sub-section in the USA and are not franchised anywhere else in the world except imported legally by independent distributors. The popular Legend is the only car sharing an Acura chasis and sold outside of the USA but it is rebadged and sold as the Honda Legend externally
2. Toyota Tundra- This is a car built by Toyota-North America to engage in the very Competitive Light-Truck Car Segment in the U.S.
3. Toyota Sienna- Minivans(Space buses) are loved in the USA by Baby-Boomers. This is Toyotas answer to that segment. In other countries, The Previa is widely used because the Sienna is built for the U.S market only
4. Toyota Matrix- This is a small vehicle produced by Toyota Motor Corporation for the U.S markets Small-Car segment
5. Nissan Altima- This is a popular mid-size sedan in the US Market. It has gained popularity in the Nigerian Market partly due to its affordability and reliability
6. Toyota Avalon- The Avalon is Toyota's answer to the Full-size sedan segment in the USA. Its loved and popular in Nigeria due to its large size yet affordable price and low running costs.
7. Toyota Sequoia- Did I get the spelling right? The Sequoia was built by Toyota-North America to compete in the very competitive Full-Size SUV segment..It's Loved so much in Nigeria due to its intimidating presence and powerful engine..It shares the same under-body with the aforementioned Tundra Pickup from the same manufacturer, Toyota.
8. All Mercedes Benzes that bare the suffixes ''350'' and ''550''- The Mercedes Benz 350 and 550 models are built only for North America due to the fact that by Law, cars produced for use in the USA must come equipped as standard with a Catalytic Converter. These Converters reduce the Bad Green House Gasses that Vehicles Produce through their Exhaust Fumes but in the same vein also make these Cars Less Powerful in terms of Horsepower Figures which becomes significantly lower due in no small part to the presence of the Catalytic Converter. To Make up for these losses in Horsepower and Compensate for the significantly lower Performance the USA Vehicles have against Their Supposedly Identical European/African/Asian/Middle-Eastern Versions, Mercedes-Benz of USA beef up their engines a bit by mildly increasing the Engine Capacity(cubic-centimeters) or through the addition of Turbo-Chargers etc. The "300" and "500" Cars are what are offered in other countries such as here in Nigeria as opposed to the "350" and "550" variants sold in the USA which are really the same thing as the respective "300" and "500" models we have here with their difference being an increase in Engine Capacity or the Addition of a Turbo or Super-Charger.
9. Nissan Armada- Sold elswhere as the Nissan Patrol, The Armada is Nissans competitor to the Sequoia. It is Powered by a big and thirsty 5.6Litre V8 Engine. Nigerians Love The Nissan Armada without even minding the fact that it's V8 Engine is a Gas Guzzler (Highly Fuel Inneficent), This is so due to the Overwhelming Size, Character and Overall Presence of this SUV. Maybe we need to start paying the Gas-Guzzler taxes here in Nigeria like the Americans do...NAAT!!
10. Toyota Tacoma- Smaller in size to the Toyota Tundra, This is not as popular as the Tundra in Nigeria but Tacomas can still be seen around every now and then.
-END-
Grey Market Cars are new or used motor vehicles Legally imported from another country through channels other than the Car-maker's official distribution system. The synonymous term parallel import is sometimes substituted.
Car makers frequently arbitrage markets, setting the price according to local market conditions so the same vehicle will have different real prices in different territories. Grey import vehicles circumvent this profit maximization strategy. Car makers and local distributors sometimes regard grey imports as a threat to their network of franchised dealerships, but independent distributors don't mind since more cars of an odd brand bring in money from service and spare parts..
IN LAYMAN TERMS, This means that Grey Market Cars are cars Imported into a country by Dealers not Authorized or Franchised by the Car-Brand in question to sell them, They are Cars bought brand new or fairly-used by independent dealers and sold in countries that they're not meant to be sold in so as to achieve financial gain
Though not illegal in Nigeria, in some countries, such as Vietnam, the import of grey-market vehicles has largely been banned. Grey Market Cars are sort of a blessing in Nigeria and at the same time a curse. They are blessings in the sense that people can buy cars not offered here by Authorized delears or if offered, then at a cheaper price than the ones sold locally by Authorized dealers. Grey Market Cars from the United States of America also come as Standard with features not offered on their Nigerian counterparts.
Now in that same Vein, Grey imports are a curse because most of these cars are not meant for the country and so are sold by private dealers as Tokunboh Cars with No-Warranty. (''Tokunboh'' is the Yoruba word for ''imported'' so it not be confused to mean ''Used'' as the cars can also be imported ''brand new''). These Cars on the premise that they are not meant for Nigeria, have no spare-parts avilable to the consumers and when these parts are available, they are fairly-used parts sold at the popular Ladipo Market and stripped from other used Grey-Market accidented or stolen vehicles that have been imported from either Belgium or the more popular United States.. A simple way of detecting Grey Market Vehicles from the USA is their Amber(orange colored) side-Marker Lights. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of America stipulates by Law that all Vehicles sold in North America must come Equipped with Amber(Orange) Side Marker Lights that are illuminated upon ignition as well as other things such as a Catalytic Converter. These laws are stipulated only in the USA and Canada so anytime You see a Vehicle with Side-Marker Lights, be sure that it's From The USA. Offcourse there are Cars meant only for the Japanese Market too and many other countries such as the Toyota Celsior, which is a rebadged Lexus LS sold only in Japan, but here in Nigeria, Tokunbohs, wether brand new or used, are mainly from the USA.
 |
| Example of a Regular Trafficator that is Amber in Color Yet it is not a Side Marker Light |
Below is a list of Ten Vehicles flooding the Nigerian market that are meant and built strictly for the USA market.
1. All Acuras- Acura, even though owned by Honda, is a US company. It is Hondas luxury vehicle sub-section in the USA and are not franchised anywhere else in the world except imported legally by independent distributors. The popular Legend is the only car sharing an Acura chasis and sold outside of the USA but it is rebadged and sold as the Honda Legend externally
2. Toyota Tundra- This is a car built by Toyota-North America to engage in the very Competitive Light-Truck Car Segment in the U.S.
3. Toyota Sienna- Minivans(Space buses) are loved in the USA by Baby-Boomers. This is Toyotas answer to that segment. In other countries, The Previa is widely used because the Sienna is built for the U.S market only
4. Toyota Matrix- This is a small vehicle produced by Toyota Motor Corporation for the U.S markets Small-Car segment
5. Nissan Altima- This is a popular mid-size sedan in the US Market. It has gained popularity in the Nigerian Market partly due to its affordability and reliability
6. Toyota Avalon- The Avalon is Toyota's answer to the Full-size sedan segment in the USA. Its loved and popular in Nigeria due to its large size yet affordable price and low running costs.
7. Toyota Sequoia- Did I get the spelling right? The Sequoia was built by Toyota-North America to compete in the very competitive Full-Size SUV segment..It's Loved so much in Nigeria due to its intimidating presence and powerful engine..It shares the same under-body with the aforementioned Tundra Pickup from the same manufacturer, Toyota.
8. All Mercedes Benzes that bare the suffixes ''350'' and ''550''- The Mercedes Benz 350 and 550 models are built only for North America due to the fact that by Law, cars produced for use in the USA must come equipped as standard with a Catalytic Converter. These Converters reduce the Bad Green House Gasses that Vehicles Produce through their Exhaust Fumes but in the same vein also make these Cars Less Powerful in terms of Horsepower Figures which becomes significantly lower due in no small part to the presence of the Catalytic Converter. To Make up for these losses in Horsepower and Compensate for the significantly lower Performance the USA Vehicles have against Their Supposedly Identical European/African/Asian/Middle-Eastern Versions, Mercedes-Benz of USA beef up their engines a bit by mildly increasing the Engine Capacity(cubic-centimeters) or through the addition of Turbo-Chargers etc. The "300" and "500" Cars are what are offered in other countries such as here in Nigeria as opposed to the "350" and "550" variants sold in the USA which are really the same thing as the respective "300" and "500" models we have here with their difference being an increase in Engine Capacity or the Addition of a Turbo or Super-Charger.
9. Nissan Armada- Sold elswhere as the Nissan Patrol, The Armada is Nissans competitor to the Sequoia. It is Powered by a big and thirsty 5.6Litre V8 Engine. Nigerians Love The Nissan Armada without even minding the fact that it's V8 Engine is a Gas Guzzler (Highly Fuel Inneficent), This is so due to the Overwhelming Size, Character and Overall Presence of this SUV. Maybe we need to start paying the Gas-Guzzler taxes here in Nigeria like the Americans do...NAAT!!
10. Toyota Tacoma- Smaller in size to the Toyota Tundra, This is not as popular as the Tundra in Nigeria but Tacomas can still be seen around every now and then.
-END-
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