Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) foreign trade reports has revealed that Nigeria recorded a total passenger car import of N527 billion in the third quarter of 2025.
This is more than double the N254 billion recorded in the same period in 2024.
The third quarter performance thus boosted the country’s import to N1 trillion worth of passenger cars in the first nine months of 2025, contributing more than half the 9 months performance.
The NBS data shows that passenger vehicle imports rose sharply year-on-year, even as higher import costs and inflation weigh on household purchasing power.
The increase forms part of a broader surge in imports recorded in the first nine months of 2025 compared with the same period last year.
Nigeria remains heavily dependent on foreign markets for vehicles, with the United States, Dubai and South Africa serving as the main import hubs for passenger cars entering the country.
The total value of used vehicles imported in the quarter hit N234.7 billion, with N184 billion of the figure imported from the United States.
According to the NBS figures, total passenger vehicle imports reached N1 trillion between January and September 2025, up from N894 billion over the same period in 2024.
In dollar terms, this translates to about $689 million, assuming an average exchange rate of N1,450/$1.
The increase is in spite a moderation in annual imports last year, when total passenger car imports stood at N1.2 trillion in 2024, down from the record N1.4 trillion recorded in 2023.
Quarterly data for 2025 point to a renewed acceleration. Passenger car imports rose to N527 billion in the third quarter, more than double the N254.6 billion recorded in the first quarter and well above the N224.5 billion posted in the second quarter.
The third-quarter figure represents the highest passenger vehicle import value for that period since at least 2020, highlighting the persistence of import demand despite higher FX costs.
Historically, the single largest quarterly import bill for passenger vehicles was recorded in Q2 2023, when imports surged to N809.6 billion.
That quarter marked the immediate aftermath of exchange-rate unification, announced shortly after President Bola Tinubu assumed office, when the naira depreciated sharply, and import values were rapidly repriced.
