Nigeria’s appetite for imported cars has exploded this year, and the numbers are now official. Passenger motor car imports reached ₦1.18 trillion in the first half of 2026 — up 145.6% from the ₦479.26 billion recorded over the same six months of 2025. The figures come from the National Bureau of Statistics’ Q1 and Q2 2026 Foreign Trade Statistics reports.
If you are shopping for a tokunbo car in Lagos, Abuja or Port Harcourt right now, that single line of data explains a lot about why prices at the dealer lot feel the way they do. But it also gets misread constantly. Below is what the data actually says, what it does not say, and how it feeds into the real cost of putting an imported car on Nigerian plates in 2026.
The numbers behind Nigeria’s ₦1.18 trillion car import bill
Breaking the half-year down by quarter shows steady, sustained demand rather than a one-off spike:
- Q1 2026: ₦552.34 billion in passenger motor car imports
- Q2 2026: ₦624.75 billion
- Q1 2025: ₦224.58 billion
- Q2 2025: ₦254.67 billion
Passenger cars were the fastest-growing line in the whole transport category. Nigeria’s total bill for transport equipment and parts came to ₦3.73 trillion in H1 2026, a 44.2% rise from ₦2.59 trillion a year earlier. Within that, “other transport equipment” accounted for ₦1.83 trillion (up from ₦1.36 trillion), industrial transport equipment climbed from ₦975.18 billion to ₦1.39 trillion, and non-industrial transport equipment moved more modestly to ₦440.73 billion from ₦380.96 billion.
One category went the other way. Imports of parts and accessories fell about 4.4%, to ₦722.59 billion from ₦755.43 billion. That is a meaningful detail for anyone worried about maintenance: the growth in Nigeria’s transport import bill was driven by complete vehicles, not by the spare parts needed to keep them running.
The caveat everyone skips: this is value, not volume
This is the part that gets lost in most headlines, and it matters for your buying decision. The NBS data measures the naira value of vehicles imported, not the number of cars that landed. A 145.6% jump in value does not mean 145.6% more cars came into the country.
Exchange rate movement, shipping and freight costs, and a shift in the mix of vehicles being imported all push the naira value up independently of unit count. Two importers bringing in the same car a year apart can post very different declared values. So read the figure as evidence of strong demand and a heavier foreign-exchange burden — not as proof that the market is suddenly flooded with cheap stock.
What changed on import duty in 2026
The import surge sits alongside a significant tariff change. In July 2026, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, told the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise that duty rates on vehicles had been reviewed downward:
- Used (tokunbo) vehicles: import duty cut from 15% to 5%
- Brand-new vehicles: import duty cut from 20% to 10%
Separately, in April 2026 the Federal Government waived import duties on electric vehicles, mass transit buses and manufacturing machinery as part of a broader push on transport costs and alternative-fuel adoption.
Lower duty is genuinely good news. It is also only one line on the clearing invoice, which is why so many buyers are surprised when the final figure lands.
Import duty is not the same as clearing cost
The duty percentage is calculated on the vehicle’s assessed value, and then several other charges stack on top. The main ones to budget for:
- Import duty — 5% on used vehicles, 10% on new, under the revised rates
- NAC (National Automotive Council) levy — 5% on used vehicles, 10% on new
- VAT — 7.5%
- ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme levy — 0.5% on vehicles sourced within West Africa
- Terminal, shipping, agent and port handling charges — variable, and often the line that moves most
Industry reporting on the Nigerian import trade suggests that once every charge is counted, total landed costs commonly add somewhere in the region of 45% to 60% on top of a vehicle’s overseas purchase price for popular tokunbo models. Treat that as a planning range, not a quotation. The real figure depends on the assessed value Customs applies, the exchange rate on the day duty is paid, the vehicle’s age and engine size, the port, and your clearing agent’s fee.
A practical rule for buyers: never budget off the auction price you saw online. Ask your agent for a written, itemised estimate covering duty, levies, VAT, terminal charges and agent commission before you commit — and confirm the current tariff position with the Nigeria Customs Service or a licensed agent, because these rates and valuations do change.
What this means for tokunbo prices at the dealer lot
Here is the honest answer: the NBS data does not establish a nationwide tokunbo price increase, and it does not produce a fresh price list for any specific model. Anyone presenting it as one is over-reading a trade statistic.
What it does tell you is that the pressure points on dealer pricing are all active at once. The cost of any individual tokunbo car in Nigeria comes down to:
- Exchange rate at the time of purchase abroad and at the time of clearing
- Source-market pricing — auction and wholesale prices in the US, Canada or Europe
- Shipping and freight rates on the route
- Customs valuation and the duty and levy stack
- Vehicle condition — accident history, mileage, whether it needs work on arrival
- Dealer margin and how long the unit has been sitting
Lower duty pulls in one direction; a weaker naira and higher freight pull in the other. That is why two dealers can quote noticeably different prices for the same model and year in the same week. Shop at least three sellers and get the vehicle inspected independently before you pay.
The CNG and EV angle
The import surge is happening exactly as the Federal Government pushes in the opposite direction — toward cheaper-to-run, alternative-fuel vehicles.
In August 2026, President Bola Tinubu announced that state governors had agreed to leverage compressed natural gas and electric vehicles to bring transport fares down nationwide from 1 October 2026. The Presidential CNG Initiative, launched in 2023 after petrol subsidy removal, has attracted more than $2 billion in private-sector investment over two years, though the government fell short of its 2025 targets for nationwide CNG infrastructure.
For a buyer weighing options, the practical read is this: petrol running costs are the single biggest ongoing expense on a Nigerian-driven car, and a CNG conversion or an EV changes that maths materially. But conversion capacity and charging infrastructure are still concentrated in a handful of corridors. Check what actually exists on your daily route before you buy on the promise of cheaper fuel. We covered the fare changes taking effect in the October 1 transport fare cut, and the pump-price picture in our September petrol price and cost-per-km breakdown.
Honest drawbacks of buying tokunbo right now
A rising import bill is not automatically a buyer’s market. Three things to weigh:
- Parts imports fell 4.4%. More cars arriving while fewer parts arrive is not a comfortable combination. Before buying a model, check whether its common wear parts are readily available in Ladipo, Kano or your local market — or whether every service becomes a special order.
- FX risk sits with you. If you are importing personally rather than buying off a lot, the naira can move between purchase and clearing. That gap has caught out plenty of first-time importers.
- Age limits and compliance. Vehicle age restrictions, SONCAP requirements and valuation disputes can delay clearing and add demurrage. Budget time as well as money.
Remember too that the purchase price is only the start. Registration, plates and papers are a separate line item, as is insurance.
Key takeaways
- ₦1.18 trillion of passenger cars were imported in H1 2026 — up 145.6% year-on-year, per NBS foreign trade data.
- That figure is value, not volume. It does not mean 146% more cars landed.
- Duty on tokunbo cars is now 5% (down from 15%), and 10% on new vehicles (down from 20%), per the Nigeria Customs Service.
- Duty is roughly a quarter of the story. NAC levy, VAT, ECOWAS levy, terminal and agent charges typically push total landed cost 45–60% above the overseas price.
- Parts imports dropped 4.4% — check spare-parts availability for your chosen model before buying.
- Get three quotes and an independent inspection. Dealer pricing varies widely because the underlying costs do.
Vehicle prices, import duties and specs change frequently in Nigeria — always confirm current figures with the dealer or the official source before buying.
Figures in this article are drawn from the National Bureau of Statistics Q1 and Q2 2026 Foreign Trade Statistics reports and from July 2026 statements by the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service.
