NADDC targets informal motor dealers with digital registration framework

The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) has commenced efforts to formalise motor dealership operations across the North-West through a digital registration framework designed to identify legitimate operators and improve data management in the sector.

The council said the initiative would address longstanding challenges of informality, fragmented records, inadequate industry data and manual processes that have limited the visibility of motor dealers and affected businesses, consumers and other stakeholders in the automotive value chain.

The Director-General of NADDC, Otunba Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, stated this in Kaduna during a sensitisation programme on the dealership registration framework for the North-West region.

Osanipin, who was represented at the event by the Director of Policy, Planning and Statistics, Mr Umar Nura Sidi, said the registration framework was not intended to impose another administrative burden on motor dealers, but to create a credible system through which legitimate dealerships could be identified, documented and integrated into the formal automotive ecosystem.

According to him, a reliable registration system would provide greater visibility of operators, strengthen consumer confidence, support access to institutional finance and business partnerships, and provide government with more dependable information for policy formulation, planning and industry development.

He said the initiative was consistent with the broader objectives of the National Automotive Industry Development Plan, which seeks to build a more organised, competitive and data-driven automotive industry.

“The objective is not merely to create another administrative requirement for motor dealers. Rather, it is to establish a credible and transparent framework through which legitimate dealerships can be properly identified, documented and integrated into formal automotive ecosystems,” he said.

The NADDC boss said the North-West was particularly important to the initiative because of its large market for vehicles and the region’s extensive commercial, agricultural, transportation and logistics activities.

He described Kaduna as a strategic location for the sensitisation programme, given the state’s history and role in Nigeria’s automotive industry, including its longstanding association with vehicle production, distribution and related activities.

Osanipin urged motor dealers and other stakeholders across the region to take advantage of the programme, ask questions and provide feedback to ensure that the registration system was practical and responsive to the realities of the Nigerian market.

He said successful implementation would depend on cooperation among government institutions, motor dealers, financial institutions, state governments and other industry stakeholders.

The NADDC representative also explained that formal registration could give dealers a verifiable business identity within the automotive sector, while helping financial institutions and prospective business partners assess operators more effectively.

For consumers, he said, the framework could provide greater confidence when dealing with properly identified and documented dealerships.

The council further said improved information on motor dealers would assist government in developing evidence-based policies and strengthening regulation of the automotive sector.

Speaking at the event, the National President of the Association of Motor Dealers of Nigeria (AMDON), Prince Ajibola Adedoyin, welcomed the initiative, saying regulation had become necessary to reorganise the dealership subsector and improve its contribution to the national economy.

Adedoyin described motor dealers as critical stakeholders in the automotive industry and said the sector had previously made efforts to draw government attention to the need for better regulation.

He commended the NADDC leadership for taking steps to establish a structured framework for the sector, saying formalisation would give legitimate operators stronger recognition and improve their ability to participate in policy discussions affecting the industry.

He urged motor dealers to support the registration initiative and make it work for the benefit of the sector.

The AMDON president said a more organised dealership industry would strengthen government’s ability to understand the sector, while enabling operators to benefit more effectively from opportunities linked to financing, regulation and policy development.

The sensitisation programme brought together motor dealers and representatives of AMDON from Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina and Kano states, alongside NADDC officials, consultants and other stakeholders.