SinotrackHowo.com — April 5, 2026
Nigeria removed its petrol subsidy in 2023, triggering a sharp rise in diesel and petrol costs for commercial fleet operators. In response, President Bola Tinubu launched the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGi), targeting one million CNG vehicles on Nigerian roads by 2027. The initiative includes conversion incentives, new refueling infrastructure, and direct government partnerships with vehicle manufacturers and distributors. Nigeria holds substantial natural gas reserves, making CNG a logical domestic alternative to imported refined fuel.
That policy backdrop has accelerated demand for CNG-capable heavy-duty trucks across construction, logistics, and cement sectors — creating a direct opening for Sinotruk HOWO models already distributed in the country.
CFAO Equipment Nigeria, an official co-distributor of Sinotruk HOWO, formally presented the HOWO N CNG tractor to the Nigerian market at a Lagos workshop organised by the Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA). Senior government officials from the PCNGi and the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) attended the event.
The HOWO N CNG tractor runs on a Sinotruk MAN gas engine — a 6-cylinder, in-line, water-cooled unit with turbocharging and intercooling. [Leadership NG] Rated output is 430 hp (316 kW) at 1,900 rpm, with a peak torque of 2,100 Nm between 1,000 and 1,400 rpm. Supporting components include a Germany WABCO air compressor, an American supercharger, a Germany MAN cylinder block, and a Germany Behr radiator. The clutch is a 430 mm single-plate dry diaphragm spring unit, hydraulically operated with air assistance.
CFAO Equipment Sales Manager Caleb Bamidele described the truck as cost-effective and environmentally friendly, built for Nigeria's varied terrain across construction, logistics, and other sectors. The HOWO N series is available in the Nigerian market as a CNG tractor head (6×4), diesel tractor head (6×4), tipper (6×4 and 8×4), mixer (6×4 and 8×4), and rigid chassis 6×4 of up to 30 tons. It is offered at 371 hp, 420 hp, and 430 hp configurations.
Qingdao Alston Motors Co., Ltd, an established Sinotruk HOWO exporter with a strong track record supplying African markets, supplies new HOWO N CNG and diesel variants directly from China. Buyers can access full model configurations and competitive factory-direct pricing at www.sinotrackhowo.com.
Dangote Cement Plc, Nigeria's largest cement producer, announced an investment of over $280 million in CNG trucks and infrastructure as part of a plan to convert its entire haulage fleet to compressed natural gas. [Businessday NG] Group Managing Director Arvind Pathak stated the company received its first batch of 1,500 mono-fuel CNG trucks, with an additional 1,600 units expected to follow — totalling 3,100 CNG trucks. The target set by the company is for the majority of its fleet to run on CNG by mid-2026.
Dangote has a long-established relationship with Sinotruk HOWO, having used HOWO tractor heads for bulk cement distribution across Nigeria for years. The scale of its CNG investment makes it the largest operator of CNG trucks in Nigeria, and its adoption directly anchors demand for the HOWO N CNG tractor in the country's heavy-logistics segment.
Nigeria is one of only a handful of African countries where Sinotruk operates a local knock-down (KD) assembly facility. The joint-venture plant produces up to 7,000 trucks per year, serving not only the Nigerian market but also neighboring countries including Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi. Nigerian Sino Trucks Limited, a fully Nigerian-owned company incorporated in 2012, is a Federal Government-recognised assembler and an authorised distributor of Sinotruk Import and Export Company Limited.
Across Africa, Sinotruk has exported more than 300,000 heavy trucks to 54 countries and held over 60% of the African heavy-duty truck market share as of 2022. The CNG transition in Nigeria — driven by policy and large industrial buyers — positions the HOWO N CNG tractor as a key growth model in one of Sinotruk's largest African markets. Qingdao Alston Motors Co., Ltd continues to support international procurement of new HOWO trucks for buyers seeking direct factory access and verified export documentation.
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