Nigeria imported $518m worth of motor vehicles and parts from the United States between January and June 2025, according to official figures released by the US Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The data showed that passenger cars dominated the inflows, gulping $379m in the first half of the year. Vehicle parts followed with $104m, while trucks, buses, and special-purpose vehicles accounted for $35m.
A month-by-month breakdown revealed that imports were relatively stable in the second quarter. In May, Nigeria received $95m worth of vehicles and parts, while in June, it recorded $92m.
Passenger car imports slipped slightly from $70m in May to $67m in June, parts dropped from $19m to $18m, while trucks and buses eased from $7m to $6m. Altogether, the May and June shipments totalled $187m, representing more than a third of the six-month figure.
At the current average of $86m per month, Nigeria is on track to cross the $1bn mark in US vehicle imports by year-end. The composition of the imports highlights Nigeria’s overwhelming dependence on fully built vehicles.
Cars made up 73 per cent of total imports, parts 20 per cent, and trucks and buses just seven per cent. The trend reflects the country’s weak domestic auto assembly base, leaving importers to rely heavily on new and used vehicles shipped directly from US ports.
The contrast with South Africa could not be sharper. Although South Africa edged Nigeria slightly with $525m in total vehicle-related imports from the U.S. in the same period, its structure leaned heavily towards parts.
South Africa imported $431m worth of vehicle parts—82 per cent of its total—while passenger cars amounted to just $61m. By comparison, Nigeria’s car imports were more than six times larger, while its parts imports were barely a quarter of South Africa’s.
South Africa, with multiple assembly plants, draws in parts to feed its production lines and service networks. Nigeria, however, continues to depend on finished cars from abroad, as local assembly operations remain small and fragmented.
Also, South Africa’s total imports tumbled from $143m in May to $80m in June, driven mainly by a steep drop in parts shipments. Nigeria’s figures dipped only marginally by 3.2 per cent over the same period, suggesting a steadier retail-driven demand.
Trucks and buses, though relatively small at $35m, remain strategically important for Nigeria’s logistics, construction, and transport sectors.
The PUNCH earlier this year reported that Nigerians imported fewer passenger motor cars in 2024 as rising inflation and the continued naira depreciation made foreign exchange more expensive, driving up the cost of vehicle imports.
The data from the foreign trade report of the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the total value of passenger car imports fell by 14.3 per cent to N1.26tn in 2024 from N1.47tn recorded in 2023.
The decline followed a sharp surge in imports the previous year, when vehicle importation more than doubled compared to 2022. However, the harsh economic realities of 2024 forced businesses and consumers to cut back on non-essential purchases, with imported cars among the most affected.
