Toyota Nigeria Limited has announced plans to roll out three electric vehicles in the country in the next three years as part of its support for the government’s green deal initiative.

Managing Director of TNL, Mr. Kunle Ade-Ojo, disclosed this on Friday while speaking with journalists at the maiden edition of the Toyota Motor Show organised by the TNL.

He gave the Toyota hybrid electric vehicles coming to Nigeria soon as the Toyota Cross, RAV4 and Land Cruiser Prado.

Ade-Ojo said, “By the end of this year, we’ll be introducing our first hybrid electric vehicle, Toyota Cross. Next year, we’ll introduce the RAV4 hybrid. And late next year or early 2026, we would be bringing in the Land Cruiser Prado hybrid,” he stated.

He also said TNL would be lending its big network of workshops to support the Federal Government’s campaign for the use of Compressed Natural Gas-powered vehicles through conversion.

“We are almost concluding arrangements with different partners to use our network of workshops for vehicle conversion to CNG-powered,” he said.

The TNL MD recalled that Nigeria sold about 10,000 new vehicles last year, with Toyota recording about 1,500 units.

He said that about 15,000 new vehicles were projected to be sold in Nigeria this year, adding that Toyota was on course to double its last year’s performance.

The exclusive motor show came with a number of activities such as a vehicle display, two new Toyota product launches, special after-sale packages, test drives, and, engaging interactions.

The three-day event (June 27-29) was held in Lekki, under a setting and ambiance akin to international auto fairs in Europe and America.

The cozy roomy space also accommodated the Body and Paint Section, the Spare Parts cubicle and the Service area.

Outside the hall but within the event centre fully decorated for the Toyota show was an international test-drive arena for customers willing to have a feel of any of the cars.

Apart from the TNL MD Ade-Ojo, other executives of TNL were on the ground giving details of each of the vehicles displayed as well as after-sales advisory.

Ade-Ojo personally took corporate customers including top government officials, influential chief executive officers of major companies on a tour of the different sections.

Speaking with journalists earlier, he said, “This show is for all Toyota customers and other Nigerians interested in buying Toyota vehicles.

“While we’re still participating in other shows, this solo Toyota Motor Show will enable us to concentrate on our customers’ needs, giving them a view of our range of vehicles and letting them to know other things we can do for them in terms of after-sale service, spare parts availability and body and paint as well as other value-adding services.”

The show, he said, afforded the TNL team an opportunity to “have one-on-one interaction with our customers without any distraction; free diagnosis on customers’ vehicles and a test drive, all taking place in a quiet and comfortable environment.”

Ade-Ojo who also had a parley with the CEOs expressed satisfaction with the attendance and the outcome of the event.

He said, “It was a wonderful outing. Everybody enjoyed the ability to come and have a one-on-one interaction with our team.

“The after-sale area is one sector that has been of major interest to customers who have been coming. The free diagnosis has been well received.” The two models unveiled at the show are Belta and Rumion.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Foundation has invited National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members to apply for its flagship pitching programme.

Announcing the programme on Sunday in a video shared by NNPC Limited on X, the foundation said current corps members are welcome to pitch business ideas to the organisation.

The programme is themed ‘Innovate NYSC: Pitching for Progress’.

“We are empowering Nigerian youth corps members to become the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. Enter the pitch phase of our entrepreneurial flagship programme and present your ideas to top business experts,” the company said.

“Impress the jury and you will receive a start-up pack to launch your business.

“Plus, we have teamed with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to cut business registration fees by half. It will be your time to shine and bring your innovative ideas to life.”

NNPC Foundation said it is dedicated to fuelling the future of Nigeria by creating job opportunities for young visionaries.

“Visit nfpitchportal.nnpcgroup.com to submit your video pitch on or before July 01, 2024,” the NNPC Foundation said.

“For further clarifications, please send an email to nfpitchingphase@nnpcgroup.com.”

The deadline for submitting pitches, the foundation said, is July 1.

Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the presidential fiscal policy and tax reforms committee, has proposed that the federal government exempt vulnerable people from paying taxes.

Oyedele made this known while speaking on Politics Today on Channels TV on Friday.

“Sadly, the system we have today is trying to tax everything and everybody. You know, if it moves, tax it; if it moves again, tax it even more. That seems to be the approach we have today,” he said.

“You would imagine that those who are selling sachets of water, which we call pure water, how much possibly can be their capital plus profits.

“With all the hard work, people are just trying to see if they can find N800 or N1,000 a day to take care of themselves and their families, which would cover their transport or feeding.

“But when we were speaking to market traders associations, they told us that these guys are paying about six to seven different levies every single day, and they give them some form of sticker.

“And that clearly is not acceptable. We’ve also seen truckers who are moving produce, including food, from one state to another have to pay more than N450,000 in one single trip. Sometimes the stickers add up to more than 50.

“So at the end of the day, this is the reason why, for example, if you looked at the last inflation numbers, even just between rural areas and urban areas, the difference in inflation is about 500 basis points, which is about 5 percent, which you can only just explain by way of transportation but by the time you add the taxes to it.

“You see, that is one of the reasons why that differential is so significant.”

According to Oyedele, other decent societies have used these methods and it worked for them.

He said this approach would fight tax evasion and stop people from breaking the law.

“So we think that the approach to adopt is to exempt some of these vulnerable people, including [the sellers of] sachet pure water,” he said.

The tax expert also said the federal government need to stop asking people how much they earn to tax them.

“We also believe that we should stop asking people how much they earn so we can tax them, we should first support them to be able to grow and create wealth, and then use intelligence to tell them how much they have earned,” Oyedele said.

“So that way, we are sure that evasion and people who try to live above the law are a thing of the past. That’s how the decent society that we aspire to be like has been able to develop economics.”

Oyedele has been advocating for different tax reforms and relief for the informal sector.

In May, his committee announced that the federal government is working on a system that will provide tax relief to 95 percent of the informal sector.

Oyedele said the plan is to exempt businesses earning N25 million a year or less, from the various taxes hindering their progress over time.