ROXETTES Motors Set To Begin Operations At Abia Assembly Plant As Gov. Otti Ensures Conducive Environment

Model car

Otti inspects the cars

ROXETTES Motors is almost ready to begin vehicle assembly in Abia State before the end of October 2024, as the construction of its assembly plant at Obu-Aku City in Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State nears completion, and all of the equipment required to start the 40,000 units of automobiles per year is expected to arrive Abia State before the end of August 2024.

The Abia-born Chief Executive Officer of ROXETTES Motors Arc. Dr. Kaycee Orji, who spoke on Friday 28th June, during a meeting with the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti(k), said that what was a dream a year ago has now become a reality owing to the encouragement from Governor Otti through the provision of the enabling environment and fulfilling every promise he made them when they shared their dream of setting up a vehicle assembly plant in Nigeria and he pleaded with The Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ctz. Ukoha Njoku Ukoha, said in a statement.

Dr. Orji stated, “I told you about my plans to open an assembly plant, and you asked me to bring it to Abia. I am extremely grateful to your Excellency for the serene business environment you have established in Abia. You have fulfilled every promise you made to us.

‘Your Excellency promised us land for the assembly plant, and in less than a month, you provided us with an offer letter and Certificate of Occupancy. I must inform you that construction is currently underway in Obu-Aku City. We call it Eco-Drive Green Tech Metropolis because we plan to do a lot of things in that space. And one of the things we are already doing is constructing the assembly plant.

‘The assembly plant will produce approximately 40,000 automobiles per year, with seventy percent (70%) of the production consisting primarily of innovative products such as electric vehicles and CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) powered vehicles.

‘The world is transitioning to sustainable energy, and we do not want to sit back and watch it happen while Nigeria and Abia State do nothing. Because of the current leadership, we believed Abia was the best place to start. So, Your Excellency, we will begin assembling electric vehicles in that space this year.

The CEO of ROXETTES Motors went on to say, “Secondly, we will have another production line there that is a CNG conversion plant. This means that we will be able to convert any vehicle to CNG. We will install CNG kits first, followed by CNG cylinders, so that people can use cheaper and cleaner energy. He described Obu-aku City as a well-planned and strategic business location, with natural gas lines providing an added benefit for forward-thinking companies.

“We produced our CNG generators in China, and they will leave China next month so that we do not disrupt or stress the already congested national grid, as we already have gas lines that pass through that location.” Dr. Orji stated that they plan to employ over a thousand Abians by the time they begin operations. Dr. Orji arrived with a prototype of their vehicle model that had already been assembled abroad so that the Governor could see and feel the quality of their products.

Governor Otti welcomed and thanked Arc. Dr. Kaycee Orji for coming to provide an update on the project’s status. He was overjoyed to learn that the car assembly plant would soon begin operations and expressed hope that they would transition from assembly to full production.
“We appreciate that the vehicles are assembled here, but it would be even better if we could start manufacturing them here. We know how manufacturing works. Because of the way cars are manufactured, you will still need to purchase some parts from others. If you want to sit down and manufacture everything from beginning to end, you cannot.

“The important thing is that you combine all of the elements in a specific location. You have an emblem that says this vehicle was made in Nigeria. That is what brings me joy. Local content is also an important consideration. So, when you look at a complete vehicle, where do the component parts come from? So, doing what we call backward integration is critical, and you do not have to produce all of those components. Someone can make brakes somewhere, and someone else can make rubber somewhere.

“We hope to reach a point where you can replicate some of those things in Aba. Our people are very creative. Simply show them what to do. They may not complete it in the same way that they would in China, but a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

An ecstatic Governor Otti thanked the CEO of ROXETTES Motors for listening to him and agreeing to establish the assembly plant in Abia. He went on to say that he has directed the commissioner of works to begin the process of constructing a dual-carriageway from the Enugu-Port Harcourt Motorway into Obu-aku City in order to improve and facilitate access to the area. ‘I just instructed the Commissioner for Works that we will build a dual carriageway into the city from the Express.”

“I know we worked out the state’s equity in land valuation, which I believe is less than two percent. So, in due course, we will look into it to see if we can increase our equity and use it to support you,” Governor Otti stated.
As a firm believer in local production, the Governor informed Dr. Orji that the State is placing orders for some of the vehicles. We are convinced that our near-total reliance on imports is a major contributor to our problems. Virtually everything we consume today is imported, putting enormous pressure on foreign exchange. By encouraging local production, eating what we produce, and producing what we eat, I believe the economy will be much better and stronger.” the governor said.

He encouraged others with similar big dreams to come to Abia State, assuring them that the state will help them achieve their goals.

Dr. Orji was accompanied by Ofia Mbaka, a popular Nollywood actor and ROXETTES Motors Ambassador.