|
Listen to article
|
Electric vehicles are holding up well for Nigerian city commuters who have structured routes and access to charging points, according to interviews conducted across Lagos and parts of the southeast, though gaps in infrastructure and electricity supply continue to shape how quickly the technology spreads.
Drivers using EVs for daily urban trips report consistent performance under local road and climate conditions, with range proving sufficient for typical intra-city travel.
What remains less settled is battery longevity under sustained use, charging station availability outside private homes, and grid reliability — factors that still weigh on purchase decisions for many potential buyers.
Faithful Edozie drives a Dayun MPV in Lagos, covering roughly 50 kilometers daily for work and client meetings. He has not encountered range problems, he said, because he monitors battery levels and understands his usage patterns. “I’ve never experienced range anxiety,” Edozie told Nairametrics. Once you track consumption, planning becomes straightforward.
Mohammed Yunusa switched to electric vehicles two years ago and now owns three — a BYD Sealion, a Denza and an Xpeng. He uses them for commuting and errands, averaging 30 to 50 kilometers per day. The shift, he said, has been more convenient than running a petrol-powered car. Based on his driving needs, he now goes longer between charging sessions than he used to between fuel stops. “My EV gives me about twice the practical range I used to get from my petrol car,” he said, referring to how often he needs to plug in compared with how often he filled a tank.
Dr. Kaycee Orji drives two fully electric models — the Surge X SUV and the VOLTA-X, both assembled by Roxettes Motors — across cities including Aba, Umuahia and Enugu. His daily distance ranges from 40 to 80 kilometers depending on meetings and site visits. Urban traffic hasn’t undermined the vehicles’ performance, he said. The simpler mechanical architecture of electric drivetrains reduces the likelihood of faults common to internal combustion engines, Orji added.
Charging practices vary by driver, shaped largely by whether they have installed home equipment or rely on public stations. Edozie depends entirely on a commercial charging point at Foltï Technologies in Victoria Island. He tops up once a week, paying roughly N500 per kilowatt-hour, which can total around N36,000 for a full cycle.
Yunusa rarely uses commercial chargers. He installed an AC home unit that came with his vehicle. Charging takes four to six hours at 7 kilowatts, and he typically tops up weekly to keep the battery around 80 percent — a practice aimed at preserving battery health over time. On the rare occasions he uses a commercial station, a full charge costs about N36,000.
Orji noted that AC home charging at 7 to 11 kilowatts usually takes five to six hours, while DC fast charging can bring a battery from 20 to 80 percent in 15 to 45 minutes. He said setting up his DC fast charging station at his residence cost approximately N11.4 million.
Most drivers avoid fully depleting their batteries, instead topping up once a week. That habit helps extend battery life, according to industry experts.
Matthew Olanrewaju, a UK-based EV diagnostics engineer who works with Tritium Power Solutions — a company that designs and manufactures DC fast chargers deployed across Europe and other markets — said EV batteries typically don’t require frequent maintenance if properly used. Most problems arise from poor design or low-quality cells, he said.
Components like brake pads, shock absorbers, connectors and electronics may need replacement due to wear, but a well-maintained battery can last five to ten years. “Only ensure you don’t fully drain the battery before recharging, and it will remain good until the end of its life,” he said.
Read also: China Reports EU Tariffs On Electric Vehicles To WTO
Olanrewaju highlighted factors that speed up degradation: deep discharges, high temperatures, and poorly designed chargers. “Leaving an EV in the sun on a hot day in Nigeria can reduce battery life, and charging at voltages or currents beyond what the battery is designed for causes damage,” he said. He recommended keeping the battery charge between 30 and 80 percent, topping up when possible, avoiding prolonged heat exposure, and using quality chargers.
For smaller batteries, AC charging is preferred. DC fast charging suits larger batteries. Most EVs in Nigeria have smaller batteries, making moderate AC charging between 7 and 50 kilowatts the more practical choice, Olanrewaju said.
Orji, who also serves as CEO of Roxettes Motors, added that modern EVs in Nigeria come with battery thermal management systems designed to preserve battery health. His company’s vehicles typically show degradation of 3 to 6 percent after three to five years of use, he said.
Sam Faleye, CEO of SAGLEV, another company assembling electric vehicles locally, said demand has risen sharply. “While the market for electric vehicles was virtually non-existent five years ago, interest is now very high,” he told Nairametrics.
Faleye cited industry data suggesting Nigeria’s new car market sells around 200,000 vehicles annually, covering both EVs and internal combustion engine vehicles, of which about 10,000 to 14,000 are assembled locally. Consumer apprehension over EVs simply because they are new is not as significant as once thought, he said.
SAGLEV works with financing partners and leverages government import duty and VAT exemptions, passing savings to buyers. The strategy targets ride-hailing operators and other segments where affordability and running costs matter most.
Read more: Tinubu Approves Deployment Of Electric Vehicles By NEDC
On charging infrastructure, Faleye said most EV buyers in Nigeria charge at home, with a charger provided at purchase. “About 80 percent of our buyers will charge at home or at work, which covers most daily use cases,” he said. For commercial fleets and mass transit vehicles, charging is handled through employer-installed or fleet-based stations.
He also noted that the de facto charging standard in Nigeria is likely to be the GBT system used by most Chinese EVs, which account for over 90 percent of imported electric vehicles.
Pricing remains a key factor for buyers weighing EVs against internal combustion engine vehicles. In Nigeria, EV prices vary by battery range, vehicle size, and type — pure EV, hybrid, or extended-range.
Most EVs deliver 280 to 420 kilometers per full charge, sufficient for typical city trips. Lagos to Ibadan is roughly 120 kilometers one way.
Compact pure EV sedans aimed at ride-hailing cost around N12 million to N22 million. Larger sedans run N31 million to N42 million.
EV mid-size SUVs can reach N55 million, high-end SUVs over N200 million, and EV pickups up to N60 million. Light EV trucks typically cost around N40 million. Extended-range EVs generally cost slightly less than fully electric equivalents.
Locally assembled internal combustion engine vehicles in similar categories range from N25 million to N35 million for sedans, N20 million to N25 million for light pickups, and N35 million to N40 million for mid-size buses. Larger SUVs and premium models can exceed N150 million. Imported internal combustion vehicles outside locally produced brands often cost significantly more due to import duties and logistics.
The federal government signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea’s AEDC in January 2025 to establish an EV assembly plant and develop supporting infrastructure, aligned with the National Energy Transition Plan and National Automotive Industry Development Plan. The project is expected to create 10,000 jobs and reach a production capacity of 300,000 vehicles.
Despite challenges including electricity supply and road conditions, Nigeria’s EV ecosystem is expanding.
Past initiatives from the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure have supported local assembly.
Key players include SAGLEV, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing, Jet Motor Company, Spiro, NEV Motors, Roxettes Motors and EMVC.
