How To start Importing Cars To Sell in Nigeria
Learn how to import cars, clear and sell them for profit to enable you start your own car dealership business in Nigeria. The Nigerian economy mostly thrives on imported cars due to the fact that cars are not being manufactured in the country. Hence, the market for imported cars is very large, as is the profitability of the business because Nigeria has a large population, increasing middle class with purchasing power to acquire new vehicles.
How To Start Importing Cars To Sell in Nigeria
How much capital do you need?
This business is not as capital intensive as it appears. So many big car dealers out there started with just one car.
For as little as N1,000,000 you can start importing second-hand cars.
What are the advantages of car dealership business?
The major advantage of this business is that the market for cars is very good in Nigeria. Reasons are that:
- So many Nigerians want to have control over their transportation needs
- So many businessmen and women need cars these days to be able to carry out business transactions with ease
- The desire to belong to a certain social class by most people
- For networking purposes.
Is it profit worthy?
This business is definitely lucrative and highly profitable for those who have interest in venturing into it. You only need to be able to manage the costs and taxes well. But on the whole, your profit margin per car should range from N100000 – N250,000 or more. To maximize your profits and avoid extra costs, always make sure you already have buyers on ground before the importation process.
What are the risks?
The major risk involved in this business is vandalism and sabotage of your goods.
How can I get potential customers?
To start sourcing for customers, you have to first run a market survey.
Market survey Your market research/survey should give you an idea of who your target customers are, what type of cars they like, their spending power, etc. Once you have been able to determine this, your next focus should be on reaching them. And that’s where good marketing strategies come in handy.
Start by immediately listing the cars online for sale. There are tons of e-commerce websites you can list your cars on including, jiji.com, olx.com and so many others.
How To Start Importing Cars To Sell in Nigeria
Most loved brand of cars
Here’s a list of most loved brands of cars in Nigeria:
- Mercedes Benz
- Honda baby boy
- Range Rover sports
- Ford
- Toyota sienna
- Toyota Camry
- Big daddy
- And so many others
A quick market survey should provide you with a comprehensive list of fast selling cars in Nigeria.
How to source cars for cheap
As a newbie, you should probably source for cheaper options for purchasing your cars. Do your research. Buy direct from online car dealers websites. Use Auto auctions, eBay car deal auctions, Yahoo Autos and many others. Find our exactly how much it will cost you to buy and ship the cars to Nigeria.
What are the costs involved for car importation?
Here are the costs you should expect when importing cars from abroad into Nigeria:
- Auction fee if you bought through auctioning
- Shipping costs
- Clearing and port charges
- Customs duty, custom levy, and VAT
- Commission payable to shipping and clearing agents
- Charges to be paid to shipping company at delivery point
- Miscellaneous expenses
Requirements to import cars for sale in Nigeria
There are mandatory requirements for importing cars into Nigeria for sale. This section will walk you through what you need to do in order to qualify as a car importer in Nigeria.
- Have a car dealership license. To fully lauch yourself in this business, you need to apply for and pay for a car dealership license. Payment of a license fee certifies you as an authentic car dealer. This is a crucial step in fully establishing your business, plus it comes with many perks. Majority of bidding sites only accept authenticated dealers to their site. You can even start selling only a particular brand of car by becoming a franchise, and so many other perks.
- Ready your documents. For you to be able to import your cars, certain requirements need to be met, including the following documents which you need to have;
- Completed Form ‘M’ submitted to authorized dealer bank with the following information:
- Description of goods
- Port destination
- Shipment identification
- Date of shipment
- Country of origin
- Country of supply
- Packing list
- Bill of lading/airway bill/roadway bill
- SONCAP certificate
- Manufacturer’s certificate of production
- Local insurance
How To Start Importing Cars To Sell in Nigeria
- How to buy your cars. There are tons of options available for buying cars. You could visit Auto auction sites and bidding sites open to you as a certified car dealer. Check out sites like auctionexport.com ridesafely.com autobidmaster.com and so many others.
You get to buy cheaper cars on Auction sites than most other sites.
Another option is going to Benin Republic to buy your cars. You will buy and drive the car all the way to Lagos. In this case, you will have to hire drivers to bring them for you.
Another option involves franchising for a particular car manufacturer or dealer. With franchising, you get to sell only cars from that company. The franchising company will handle all logistics for your business; you are only required to just keep selling and making more orders
- Secure payment terms. The secure payment options available are wire transfers, credit or debit card from your bank to the seller’s bank, letter of credit, and others.
The letter of credit is, however, the most secure method. Here, the importer pays for the car to the authorized dealer bank, for transfer to its correspondent bank in the seller’s country. The correspondent bank will then credit the seller’s bank with this money, only if the seller performs his/her own part of the deal in accordance with the terms in the letter of credit.
- Acquiring a lot. Once everything is set, and you can now start importing cars, you have to budget for a land or lot where you’ll be keeping your cars. Ensure that the place is safe and well secured at all times.
Hope this article was helpful? If you will like to know more or book a consulting session with us , do call us on 008105636015 or 08076359735 or send a mail to dayohub@gmail.com
(B.Agric, MBA)
08105636015, 08076359735
Serial Entrepreneur - International Business Planning Consultant - Speaker - Trainer - Author - Blogger - Network Marketing professional.
- 2018 SME Business Trainer and Coaching Advisor at GIZ for SME Loop.
- 2018 YALI RLC Online Cohort 9
- 2017 Fellow, Inspire Africa Train-the-Trainer Entrepreneurship programme sponsored by US Consulate Lagos and the Dickey Center, U.S.A.
- 2016 Fellow, Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme
- 2015 Top 50 Innovative Entrepreneurs, BET5 by Diamond Bank and EDC, PAU.
He is an alumnus of Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) of the Lagos Business School (LBS), Pan-Atlantic University (PAU). Through his training, mentoring, speaking and coaching programmes, he has empowered many young people over the years to start and grow their own business, build wealth, create multiple streams of income and achieve financial independence.
- He is a Certified Trainer in Design Thinking by the U.S Consulate, Lagos and the inspire Africa Entrepreneurship Institute.
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faith
Is buying cars from Benin republic not illegalbhere in Nigeria?
Patrick nganga njoki
I would like to strat a business..and I will be grateful to do business with you
Gbolahan
Good morning and how was your night and your family, yes I’m interested in auto import