{"id":12401,"date":"2026-11-08T12:15:46","date_gmt":"2026-11-08T12:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/08\/weststar-chief-uwatse-joins-elite-ranks-of-nigerian-automotive-legends-businessday-ng\/"},"modified":"2026-11-08T12:15:46","modified_gmt":"2026-11-08T12:15:46","slug":"weststar-chief-uwatse-joins-elite-ranks-of-nigerian-automotive-legends-businessday-ng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/08\/weststar-chief-uwatse-joins-elite-ranks-of-nigerian-automotive-legends-businessday-ng\/","title":{"rendered":"Weststar chief Uwatse joins elite ranks of Nigerian automotive legends – Businessday NG"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA) has nominated Benson Uwatse, chairman of Weststar Associates Limited, for its Nigeria Auto Legend Award, making him the third industry leader to receive the recognition.\n<\/p>\n

Uwatse joins Michael Ade Ojo, chairman of Toyota Nigeria Limited, and Cosmas Maduka, president and chief executive officer of Coscharis Group, in the category, which recognises individuals whose contributions have influenced the development of Nigeria\u2019s automotive industry.\n<\/p>\n

His nomination reflects more than three decades of involvement in the country\u2019s automobile business, particularly in the distribution and representation of Mercedes-Benz vehicles.\n<\/p>\n

As chairman of Weststar Associates, the authorised general distributor of Mercedes-Benz in Nigeria, Uwatse oversees a business responsible for the brand\u2019s operations across passenger cars, commercial vehicles, trucks and buses.\n<\/p>\n

Read also:\u00a0NAJA awards open as auto brands compete for top honours<\/a><\/p>\n

Weststar commenced operations in Nigeria in February 2008, taking responsibility for Mercedes-Benz sales and after-sales services in the country. Its operations cover vehicle distribution, dealer support, technical training, genuine spare parts, warranties and customer service.\n<\/p>\n

Uwatse\u2019s experience in the industry also includes his involvement in the Mercedes-Benz dealership network, particularly his leadership role as managing director of MB Automobile Services Limited, an authorised Mercedes-Benz dealer in Nigeria.\n<\/p>\n

The Nigeria Auto Legend Award seeks to recognise industry figures whose influence extends beyond vehicle distribution and commercial activities to the wider development of the automotive sector.\n<\/p>\n

Ade Ojo, founder of Elizade Nigeria Limited and chairman of Toyota Nigeria Limited, became the first recipient of the recognition in 2017. His decades of investment in automobile distribution and business development established him as one of the prominent figures in Nigeria\u2019s automotive industry.\n<\/p>\n

Maduka was subsequently recognised for building Coscharis Group from a modest automobile trading business into a diversified indigenous conglomerate with interests in vehicle distribution and other sectors.<\/p>\n

Under his leadership, Coscharis Motors secured distribution franchises for international automotive brands, including BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and Ford.\n<\/p>\n

Uwatse\u2019s nomination adds another industry executive to the list of business leaders recognised by NAJA for their roles in shaping the country\u2019s automobile market.\n<\/p>\n

The 19th Nigeria Auto Industry Awards, organised by NAJA, is scheduled to hold on Thursday, December 3, 2026, at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.\n<\/p>\n

The annual event brings together vehicle manufacturers, distributors, dealers, policymakers, regulators and other industry stakeholders to recognise achievements across Nigeria\u2019s automotive and transportation sectors.\n<\/p>\n

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Related News<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJuliet Onyema<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Juliet Onyema is a transport journalist who reports on Nigeria\u2019s transport and automobile industry. She covers emerging Electric Vehicles (EVs), ranging from adoption to usage, automobile firms and transport policies which affect them, and also recurring trends affecting commuters\u2019 mobility interstate and intrastate.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Source: <\/p>\n

Businessday NG<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA) has nominated Benson Uwatse, chairman of Weststar Associates Limited, for its Nigeria Auto Legend Award, making him the third industry leader to receive the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12402,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12401\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}