China Lifan 520 sedan drives in Nigeria with price edge

In the auto market, any dealership that has competitive prices, good quality vehicles and reliable after-sales network, as factors interplaying in his favour, will definitely make lot of impact. Interestingly, all these are what a new motor company, Emel Automobiles Nigeria Limited, is banking on to endear its Chinese brands of vehicles to the Nigerian market.

Emel made a debut at the Eagle Square – venue of the recent 10th Abuja International Motor Show – with Lifan 520 sedan and a mini bus called Polarsun. The duo attracted a stream of visitors into the company's stand while the fair lasted, with a good number of them excited to hear that the vehicles have competitively prices, despite being basically products of Japanese engineering concept.

Introducing the Lifan 520, the General Manager (Marketing), Mr. Anant Shankar, said the car which is available in four basic models, is being positioned as a sedan that is affordable to the masses. He said: "We want to keep the cars affordable for the masses at between N1.28 million and N1, 75 million, depending on the model. The Lifan 520 models are the most affordable cars in Nigeria and at the same time some of the best."

The basic models of Lifan are DX, LX, EX, and EX luxury with DVD. They are powered by either 1.3 or 1.6 litre engines. Both engines have the powerful multipoint electronic technology controlled with fuel injection. This enhances fuel efficiency. For instance, Lifan achieves 100 kilometres with 7.6 litres of fuel.

Some of the features of the cars are large trunk, alloy wheels, spacious leg room, fog lamps and multi-reflector lamps. Safety-wise, Lifan 520 boasts driver/front passenger airbags, reverse radar screen, slit light indicator, ABS (anti-lock brake system) with EBD (electronic brake distribution) and child-protection door lock, while the body is made of 0.8 to 1.2mm strong metal sheet.

Standard in all the models are four-direction adjustable driver seat, power adjusting rear-view mirror, rear wind shield glass heat, front ceiling lamp with reading lamp, among others. At about N2.35 million (against N2.6 for Japanese competitors), Polarsun was described by Shankar as the most affordable 12-seater bus in the market.

He confirmed that many units of Lifan and Polarsun were sold on the fair ground, disclosing that Emel Automobiles has been collaborating with banks, including Intercontinental, ECOBANK and Bank PHB, to provide buyers with finance schemes which enable them own the vehicles without paying the entire price at once, but are rather spread out for them over many months.

Emel, which ventured into auto marketing about one year ago, has a network of after-sales service back-up with workshops at Warri, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Aba, Benin, Abeokuta and Ibadan , as well as adequate stocks of replacement parts.

An indication that Lifan 520 has been doing well was given by the General Manager (marketing), who disclosed that out of 500 units imported by Emel, 220 have been sold, which he said is "the best figure among Chinese vehicles." Automatic transmission version would soon be joining the current manual transmission stock available, Daily Sun was told.

"Chinese vehicles are going to take over the auto world someday. One major advantage the Chinese have over others is the comparatively cheap production costs. China has cheap labour which helps to reduce the cost of production."