Nigeria's imports of passenger motor vehicles rose sharply by 145.6 per cent year-on-year to ₦1.18 trillion in the first half of 2026, from ₦479.26 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.

An analysis of the Foreign Trade Statistics reports for the first and second quarters of 2026, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the increase in vehicle imports contributed significantly to the expansion of the country's transport equipment import bill.

Overall, Nigeria imported transport equipment and parts valued at N3.73 trillion during the six-month period, up 44.2 per cent from the N2.59 trillion recorded in the first half of 2025.

Transport equipment imports rose from N1.75 trillion in the first quarter of 2026 to N1.99 trillion in the second quarter. Passenger vehicle imports also increased from N552.34 billion in the first quarter to N624.75 billion in the second quarter.

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By comparison, passenger vehicle imports stood at N224.58 billion and N254.67 billion in the first and second quarters of 2025, respectively.

The data, according to Nairametrics, showed that passenger motor vehicles recorded the strongest growth among the major transport import categories, with import value more than doubling within one year.

Other transport equipment accounted for N1.83 trillion in the first half of 2026, up from ₦1.36 trillion in the corresponding period of 2025.

Within the category, imports of industrial transport equipment rose from N975.18 billion to N1.39 trillion.

Imports of non-industrial transport equipment increased more moderately, rising from ₦380.96 billion in the first half of 2025 to N440.73 billion in the same period of 2026.

However, imports of vehicle parts and accessories declined by about 4.4 per cent to ₦722.59 billion, compared with N755.43 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.

The figures indicated that the sharp increase in the overall transport import bill was driven largely by complete passenger vehicles and industrial transport equipment, rather than parts and accessories.

The increase came amid federal measures to reduce transportation costs and encourage the adoption of vehicles powered by alternative fuels.

In April, the government waived import duties on electric vehicles, mass-transit buses and manufacturing machinery as part of efforts to ease economic pressures and stimulate investment.

President Bola Tinubu also announced in August that state governors had agreed to promote the deployment of compressed natural gas and electric vehicles to reduce transportation costs nationwide from October 1, 2026.

The federal government established the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative in 2023 after removing the petrol subsidy, positioning CNG as a cheaper, cleaner alternative for motorists and public transport operators.