WP29: NADDC boss advocates stronger global standards for used vehicle imports

The Director General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, has led Nigeria’s delegation to the 194th session of the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29), organised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) at the UN Office in Geneva, Switzerland.

The WP.29 platform plays a pivotal role in fostering global collaboration on vehicle regulations, and Nigeria’s continued participation reinforces its strategic intention to modernise its automotive sector, attract investment, and promote the development of safe, efficient, and environmentally friendly vehicles.

The session brought together key representatives from governments, international organisations, and industry stakeholders to deliberate on global best practices, rules and regulations to ensure safety, standardisation and harmonisation of relevant vehicle regulations.

During the session, Osanipin addressed the international delegates at the dedicated session on Safer, Cleaner Used and New Vehicles (SCUNV), where he emphasised the urgent need for robust standards governing the importation and management of used vehicles, particularly into Africa and Nigeria.

In his remarks, he highlighted the urgent standardisation and harmonisation of used vehicle requirements, stressing the importance of establishing uniform regulations to ensure the safety, performance, and environmental compliance of used vehicles entering developing markets.

He advocated for a mandatory pre-shipment inspection (PSI), where exporting countries would conduct thorough pre-shipment inspections of all used vehicles, ensuring they meet destination country standards before export.

The DG raised serious concerns about the growing trend of shipping damaged vehicles—especially flood-affected, tampered-VIN, and scrapped vehicles—to Africa, calling for stringent controls to curb these unsafe imports.

He also called for an extension of the mandate and timeframe of the Informal Working Group (IWG) on SCUNV, noting that this would allow the group to deepen its work, engage broader stakeholders, and develop more comprehensive frameworks.

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According to him, Osanipin emphasised Nigeria’s commitment to staying ahead of global automotive innovations and aligning local regulations with international standards.

“We must strive to be ahead in terms of regulations in the face of ever-evolving technologies and innovations in vehicles and the automotive industry across the world,” he stated.

The Director General was accompanied by the Director of Policy, Planning and Statistics of NADDC and other relevant government institutions, further reflecting Nigeria’s multi-stakeholder approach to automotive policy development and regulatory implementation.

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