Expert projects global car sales to dip 3.2% in 2022

NIGERIA’S MINISTER OF TRANSPORTA TION, MUAZU SAM BO HAS ASSURED NIGERIANS that the Abuja-Kaduna passemget train service will kick off in less than two weeks.

Sambo stated this on Thursday after inspection of the facilities on the Lagos-Ibadan standard Guage rail in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.

The Minister who was accompanied by the minister of state for transportation state, Ademola Adegoroye, permanent secretary federal ministry of transportation, Madgalene Ajani amongst other staff said the ministry is proactive and determined to meeting the demands of all passengers.

According to Sambo, the ministry of transportation have a target date and Nigerians are interested in the services being render.

Fielding questions on the ability of ministry coping with increasing number of passengers, Sambo declared that, so far the train service is not oversubscribed.

“We don’t have more than 24 hours a day, but you need to use this train services within the hours we have in a day and we would meet the demands of our passengers. We are proactive, we don’t need to announce what we have done. For instance, every Nigerian that patronize train service has made us to

At 32 kilometres per hour, the gas consumption per 100 kilometres is 31 cubic metres.

“With air conditioning on, gas consumption increases by 10 percent. This is experimental data, specific gas consumption will be affected by road conditions, congestion, driver’s driving habits and so on, we do not promise gas consumption,” the company said.

In December 2020, the federal government rolled out its National understand that they’re pleased with the services, no challenges or hitches or whatsoever”.

He expressed satisfaction over the facilities inspected, adding that the passengers that were randomly sampled have proven that the train service is a welcome idea.

Managing director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC),Fidet Okhiria appreciated the the federal government for keeping railway alive through critical infrastructure development and sustainability of the NRC operations.

Okhiria maintained that Railway transportation is one of the corner stones of economic growth and development of any country, through mass movement of freights and people, thereby creating direct and indirect job opportunities, urbanization, business expansion and social integration for peaceful coexistence.

He further stated that, in the recent times, NRC has been facing some challenges which include; security and vandalization , but we thank the minister and his team for their efforts towards ensuring that the railway corridors are now properly secured for the safety of our esteemed passengers and other stakeholders.

“I commend the efforts of the minister by ensuring all hostages of Abuja-Kaduna Train Service AKTS infamous train attack were released before the resumption of the train operations on the AbujaKaduna train service. This shows the compassion and empathy of the minister”.

Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP), which involves the conversion of fuel-powered cars and generators from petrol to gas.

The programme, which was expected to deliver at least one million vehicle conversions by the end of 2021, aligns with the government’s plan to make gas the first-choice source for cheaper and cleaner energy.

The need to switch from petrol to gas was necessitated by the deregulation

CHINA IS EXPECTED TO ONCE AGAIN BE THE DRIVING FORCE FOR THE WORLD AU TOMOTIVE MARKET, with its auto sales accelerating further despite a global decline this year, an industry expert has said.

Global car sales are expected to fall by 3.2 percent in 2022, while those in the Chinese market will increase by 5 percent year on year, according to Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, director of the CAR Center Automotive Research in Duisburg, Germany.

However, in the first half of the year, German auto makers saw declines in both sales and their market shares in China.

Volkswagen, for instance, recorded a slump of 20 percent in China sales compared to the same period last year, while sales of Mercedes-Benz and BMW both fell 19 percent.

The market shares in China of these three leading German auto makers, meanwhile, all shrank in the first six months, with Volkswagen down from 18.4 percent to 14.2 percent, Mercedes-Benz from 4.4 percent to 3.4 percent, and BMW from 4.7 percent to 3.7 percent, German business newspaper Handelsblatt reported.

While the United States auto market experienced an 18 percent decline in sales in the first half of 2022 and the European market suffered a 14 percent drop year on year, China saw its new car sales up 4 percent in the first six months. This is a clear indication that China will once again be the driver of the world auto market, Dudenhöffer claimed.

With the surge in auto sales this year, China is propping up the world auto market from the depression, and it will grab a bigger share of the world market, at 32.1 percent, he predicted.

The winners are clearly Chinese manufacturers and Tesla. And German auto makers will have a tougher time in China, Dudenhöffer said, citing the industry’s transition into electrification as one of the key reasons.

Volkswagen group CEO Herbert Diess once said during his tenure that the company was facing struggles with electrification.

Auto sales in China failed to perform well enough in the first half due to the lack of chips amid a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the market has been recovering since July.

Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufactures showed that car sales in China reached 2.42 million vehicles in July, up 29.7 percent year on year. Among them, 593,000 new energy vehicles were sold, rocketing 120 percent from a year earlier, with a market share of 24.5 percent.

The association expects China’s auto market to extend steady growth in August, with passenger car production and sales both increasing rapidly, and NEVs and auto exports also maintaining good performance.