69 Year Old Reveals Prices Of New Cars In Nigeria In 1984, Says Santana Cost ₦3k, Mercedes ₦24,000

69 year old reveals the price of brand new cars in Nigeria in 1984, says his first car, a VW Santana cost ₦3,000.

He also said a Mercedes cost ₦24,000, though the model wasn’t stated in his interview with Business Day.

Then, he said Volkswagen and Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) were assembling cars in Lagos and Kaduna respectively.

To support these vehicle assembly plants, spare parts makers, Dunlop and Michelin, were producing tyres in Nigeria. 

He added that Nigerians were exchanging a dollar for ₦0.765 and ₦0.894 in 1983 and 1984 respectively.

69 year old Anthony Anamelechi has lamented how the current exchange rate has forced Nigerians to depend solely on foreign used vehicles (Tokunbo), compared to the early 1980s when vehicles were being assembled in the country.

Speaking with Business Day, Anamelechi said he bought his first car, a brand new Volkswagen Santana for N3,000 in 1984 by simply walking into a Volkswagen showroom.

Then, Anamelechi, a young staff of the North Breweries in Kano who was on a monthly salary of N250 and N100 overtime wages (about N4,200 annually), said he was able to save up in a space of two years to buy a new car of his choice.

“Between 1984 and 1985, a brand-new Peugeot was sold for N7,000; Volkswagen Santana for N3,000; Mercedes Benz was sold for N24,000 and a new Volvo car was sold for N18,000,” said 69-year-old Anamelechi.

In the 1980s, he noted that the likes of Volkswagen and Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) were assembling cars in Lagos and Kaduna respectively while Steer Trucks were assembled in Ibadan.

To support these vehicle assembly plants, spare parts manufacturing firms such as Dunlop and Michelin tyres were producing tyres in Nigeria, with both companies sourcing their raw materials locally.

Speaking further, he said Nigerians were exchanging a dollar for ₦0.765 and ₦0.894 in 1983 and 1984 respectively, unlike today’s ₦1,466.31/$ in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) as of May 10.

39 Years After

Today, brand new cars are reserved for wealthy Nigerians and politicians as high-end luxury cars such as the Toyota Highlander sells for over ₦72 million while a new Toyota Land Cruiser 300 Series goes for about ₦150 million.

As at August 2023, a brand new Toyota Camry sells for between ₦48 million and ₦53 million in Nigeria while a Toyota Corolla goes for between ₦34,000,000 and ₦37,000,000, depending on their variants.

Source Credits : Business Day

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