Tokunbo Car Imports Surge 145.6% to ₦1.18 Trillion in H1 2026
By Aboki Forex —
Nigeria's passenger car import bill jumped 145.6% year-on-year to ₦1.18 trillion in the first half of 2026, up from ₦479.26 billion in the same period of 2025. The figure comes from an analysis of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) first and second quarter 2026 Foreign Trade Statistics reports.
The surge points to strong demand for imported vehicles despite rising living costs, and it raises fresh questions about what buyers should expect to pay for tokunbo cars as dealers adjust prices.
What the quarterly figures show
Imports rose from ₦552.34 billion in Q1 2026 to ₦624.75 billion in Q2 2026. In the same quarters of 2025, the values stood at ₦224.58 billion and ₦254.67 billion respectively.
The NBS data measures the value of imported vehicles, not the number of cars brought into the country. The 145.6% increase does not mean the volume of vehicles imported rose by the same margin.
Total transport equipment and parts imports reached ₦3.73 trillion in H1 2026, a 44.2% rise from ₦2.59 trillion in H1 2025.
Other transport equipment accounted for ₦1.83 trillion, up from ₦1.36 trillion a year earlier. Industrial transport equipment recorded the strongest increase within the category, climbing from ₦975.18 billion to ₦1.39 trillion. Non-industrial transport equipment rose from ₦380.96 billion to ₦440.73 billion.
Spare parts imports fall
Imports of parts and accessories declined by about 4.4% to ₦722.59 billion from ₦755.43 billion. That decline shows the growth in Nigeria's transport import bill was driven largely by complete vehicles and other transport equipment rather than spare parts.
The higher import values could feed into the cost of imported used cars, depending on exchange rates, shipping expenses, customs charges, vehicle condition and dealer margins. The data does not establish a nationwide tokunbo price increase or provide a fresh price list for specific models. The impact on individual vehicles will depend on what it costs to source and clear each car.
Government pushes CNG and electric vehicles
The rise in vehicle imports comes as the Federal Government pushes measures aimed at cutting transport costs and encouraging alternative-fuel adoption.
In April, the government waived import duties on electric vehicles, mass transit buses and manufacturing machinery.
In August, President Bola Tinubu announced that state governors had agreed to leverage compressed natural gas (CNG) and electric vehicles to reduce transport fares nationwide from October 1, 2026.
The Presidential CNG Initiative, launched in 2023 after the petrol subsidy removal, is also intended to promote cheaper and cleaner transport alternatives. The CNG sector 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.
The import bill shows continued appetite for cars and Nigeria's heavy reliance on imported transport equipment. For buyers, the key pressure point remains the naira cost of sourcing and clearing each vehicle, not the headline import value alone.