Yamaha Returning to Nigeria

Dennis Chung
by Dennis Chung

Yamaha is returning to the Nigerian market with a new factory set to open in Lagos in 2015. Yamaha is partnering with French distribution company CFAO to form a joint venture called CFAO Yamaha Motor Nigeria to produce motorcycles from the 30,000 sq-ft. factory in the country’s largest city.

The joint venture will be Yamaha’s second try at the Nigerian market. Yamaha had originally set up shop in 1980, producing and selling motorcycles for 35 years before shutting down operations in 2005 due to a decline in the market. While Yamaha continued to import motorcycles over the last decade, the joint venture will allow Yamaha to expand its business in the country with the largest demand for motorcycles in Africa. According to Yamaha, Nigeria’s motorcycle market reached 1.3 million units in 2013 and is expected to grow to 1.8 million units by 2020.

With CFAO, Yamaha has found a partner with extensive experience in the African market. CFAO operates in 34 countries on the continent with several motorcycle and automotive brands. CFAO already imports and distributes Yamaha motorcycles to 16 African countries. Yamaha and CFAO will each contribute half a million dollars towards the new Nigerian joint venture.

The factory will begin operating in the summer of 2015 with targeting a production goal of 70,000 motorcycles a year by 2018.

[Source: Yamaha, CFAO]

Dennis Chung
Dennis Chung

Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.

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