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Did Volkswagen return to Nigeria after 20 years of exit?

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Claim: A Facebook user claims Volkswagen has reopened its company in Nigeria after 20 years.

Did Volkswagen return to Nigeria after 20 years of exit?

Verdict: MISLEADING! The news of Volkswagen returning to Nigeria is from a 2015 report by The Cable, not a recent development.

Full Text

Volkswagen began operating in Lagos in 1975 through a partnership. It produced its iconic Beetle and later added other cars and light commercial vehicles. The company folded amid weak demand and other factors.

The Will, in a special report, stated that the refusal of former president Muhammed Buhari to approve the 2013 Nigerian Automotive Industry Developer Bill and dirty and poor quality fuel in the local markets, amongst others, stimulated the departure of the company from Nigeria.

A Facebook user, Progressive Nigerian Politics, on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, shared a post, claiming that Volkswagen has returned to Nigeria after 20 years.

“Volkswagen reopens assembling plant in Nigeria, after 20 years of leaving.” The post read.

As of Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, the post had generated about 224 likes, 44 comments, and 21 reposts.

In the comment section, other Facebook users disagreed with each other about the credibility of the post. While most believed the post and asked numerous questions, a few others flagged it as misleading.

“How many times will they return? Will your presidency, FEC, SENATE, MINISTERS etc(.) patronise their services?”  Akande Bigblessing said.

Another user, Ndumo Madu asserted,  “Where’s the location? and what’s their new brand of vehicles?”

Muhammad Aruna wrote, “Outdated News”

Moreover, these posts have been shared on Facebook (here, here, and here) and X (here and here).

 Due to the post’s huge engagement and virality, DUBAWA decided to verify the claim’s veracity.

Verification

DUBAWA conducted a keyword search to confirm the German automaker’s return to Nigeria. We came across a report by TheCable, published on July 10, 2015. It is noteworthy to mention that it is this report’s headline that was used by all claimants across X and Facebook. 

The news outlet reported the company’s reopening in 2015 after 20 years. This success was due to its partnership agreement with the Stallion Group, a private auto company, to assemble the Volkswagen brand of vehicles in the country.

DUBAWA noticed the claim shared by the  X user @WaleBolatito  contained a screenshot of the 2015 report by TheCable.

Upon further investigation, we found an August 4, 2015 report by Vanguard, where the National Automotive Company (NAC) referred to the return of the Volkswagen company to Nigeria after 20 years of absence as a “remarkable development.”

Business Day and Nairametrics reported similar events in the same year(2015).

Furthermore, DUBAWA searched through various credible media outlets for recent reports of Volkswagen company returning to Nigeria but found no such report.

Moreover, DUBAWA also contacted Volkswagen in Nigeria, but the German company did not respond to the matter.

Conclusion

Our investigation shows that Volkswagen’s return to Nigeria is not a recent development as portrayed by the claimant. 

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