Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Co. Ltd., shortened as IVM, is a Nigerian automobile and bus manufacturing company. It was founded by Innocent Chukwuma Nwala and runs a plant in Nnewi in Anambra state. Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing is nicknamed Pride of African Road. Here are some interesting facts you should know about the Pride of African Road.
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- It was founded by Chief (Dr) Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma (OFR) the CEO of Innoson Group the youngest among six children.
- He was born into the family of Mr & Mrs Chukwuma Mojekwu of Uru-Umudim, Nnewi, in Anambra State, without the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth. But, what he lacked in the affluent parental background, he made up for with intelligence, hard-work, discipline and business acumen – qualities that have continued to interplay remarkably in his many ventures.
- In February 2007, Chukwuma embarked on what some analysts perceived then as a mission impossible, when it incorporated INNOSON Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited (IVM), to produce sundry commercial automobiles, utility vehicles and passenger cars, in collaboration with a consortium of Chinese auto manufacturers.
- Innoson is Nigeria’s first indigenous automobile manufacturing company, which was founded in the year 2007.
- With the public display of some of the vehicles at the 2nd Nnewi International Auto Trade Fair held at the Beverly Hills Hotels (Gabros Sports Complex) in the last quarter of 2009, IVM did not only silence the critics but made a bold statement about its readiness to achieve the avowed mission of being the first (indigenous) automaker to produce truly Nigerian vehicles that are affordable and reliable.
- IVM is today a success story which has attracted effusive commendations and awards from various quarters, including the nation’s seat of power.
- While opening the plant on October 15, 2010, President Goodluck Jonathan not only hailed Chukwuma for the courage of venturing into an industry many ran away from, but also assured him of government’s patronage from the government.
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- Even before the President’s visit, IVM had attracted an official delegation from the Ghanaian government, which through a minister, dangled incentives before Chukwuma with an appeal to come over to Accra for talks on how he could set up a similar plant in the former Gold Coast.
- 70% of the car parts are produced locally, while the rest is sourced from Japan, China, and Germany.
- Among IVM’s vehicle models are the five-seaters Fox (1.5-liter engine) and Umu (2-liter engine) as well as the mini-bus Uzo.
- 70% of the company’s car parts are produced locally while the rest is being imported from Japan, China and Germany.
- All of the company’s vehicle production has been manual but plans to upgrade to automated production is in place.
- One of the main purpose of the company is to eradicate “Tokunbo” (foreign used) automobiles from Africa.
- The company first cars were the IVM Umu, IVM Umu and IVM Uzo manufactured at the company’s Nnewi plant in Anambra State, South east Nigeria.
- All Innoson motors comes with a 3 years engine, axles and gear warranty.
- Innoson vehicles are being used in some West African countries like: Mali, Sierra Leone and Ghana.
- Brand Ambassador Mercy Eke, the first female winner of Big brother naija show, is currently the brand ambassador for Innoson Vehicles.
- Innoson New Logo: A Nigerian Youth Osuolale Farouq was invited by the Company CEO Innocent Chukwuma after he re-designed and shared an improved and attracting logo for Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing on Twitter.
- The founder of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) was a spare part trader.
- Innocent Chukwuma pioneered the first Made-in-Nigeria Motorcycle brand that sold for as low as N60,000.
- By year 2002, he had successfully driven out tokunbo (foreign-used) motorcycles out of Nigeria.
Sources:
Auto Josh
Wikipedia
Anchor
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