Despite the challenges bedevilling Nigeria’s automotive sector, some assemblers have expressed interest to invest in the production of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country. Experience has shown that Nigeria usually turned out to be a dumping ground for a variety of banned products. Given its preference for used vehicles over brand new ones due to very poor purchasing power of the masses, it stands at a higher risk of dumping when other countries eventually phased out the use of conventional fuel cars.
Electric vehicles are a novel and eco-friendly technology designed to reduce man’s dependence on fossil fuel, and potentially a threat to the conventional fuel car market. Top auto assemblers like Volvo, a Swedish vehicle manufacturer, has committed to fitting every car it produced by 2019 with electric or hybrid engines, just as Germany’s BMW plans to mass-produce EVs by 2020, offering 12 models by 2025.
A recent report published by the World Economic Forum, entitled “Electric vehicles for smarter cities: The future of energy and mobility,” also indicated that French multinational automaker, Renault, plans to produce 20 electrified models by 2022, while Germany-based, Volkswagen, will invest up to $84 billion in battery and EV technology to electrify all 300 of its models by 2030. Read more