West Africa is almost entirely left-hand drive, which makes it the strongest natural fit for the Changan UNI line-up as built in Chongqing — no conversion, no Thailand allocation, no waiting list.
West Africa is the region where our published catalogue applies exactly as written. The whole coast drives on the right, so the Chongqing-built left-hand-drive UNI-T and UNI-V go straight in with no allocation queue and lead times of 25 to 35 days on the 1.5T grades.
Ship containerised rather than Ro-Ro into Lagos unless price is the only consideration. Loose items — mats, tool kits, first-aid boxes, sometimes badges — disappear from open Ro-Ro decks at several terminals on this coast, and the container premium is roughly USD 117 per unit on a three-car UNI-V load, which is less than one set of replacement floor mats and a respray of a kerbed alloy. The arithmetic flips for the UNI-T: it is 1,565 mm tall, so only two fit a 40HQ against three UNI-V, and containerising SUVs costs money at every volume. Do it for protection, not for price.
SONCAP is the thing that actually stalls Nigerian shipments. The Product Certificate has to be issued in China before loading, and a Form M cannot be cleared without it. Ghana runs an equivalent Conformity Assessment scheme. Neither can be retrofitted after departure, which is why we ask for the destination country on the first message rather than at PI stage.
LHD across the region — direct match for factory UNI-T and UNI-V stock
Nigeria operates the SONCAP scheme and requires a Product Certificate before a Form M is cleared. Ghana requires a Conformity Assessment certificate. Both accept a China-issued CoC from an accredited inspection body, which we arrange before loading.
Authority: Standards Organisation of Nigeria — SONCAP. See the full document checklist for what else travels with the shipment.
Ro-Ro from Shanghai to Lagos (Tin Can Island), Tema and Abidjan runs 35-45 days. Containerised 40HQ shipments are common for 3-unit UNI-V orders because of pilferage risk on the Ro-Ro decks.
35 to 45 days by Ro-Ro from Shanghai, plus 25 to 35 days of production before that — so roughly 70 to 80 days from cleared deposit to arrival at Tin Can Island. Container transit is comparable; the difference is cost and protection, not speed. Tema and Abidjan run one to three days shorter than Lagos.
The best-selling Changan UNI-V export spec: 1.5T fastback sedan, 380 L boot, 51 L tank and hidden door handles.
The volume Changan UNI-T export trim: 188 PS turbo petrol, 7-speed DCT and a 20-inch coupe-SUV stance.
Performance flagship of the UNI-V line: 233 PS, 390 Nm, 8-speed Aisin automatic and a 215 km/h top speed.