What will be Nigeria’s first locally- assembled electric car has been unveiled in Lagos, the country’s economic hub and centre of commerce, by the Stallion Auto Group.
With the unveiling of the car, Hyundai Kona, on Friday, Africa’s biggest economy can now join the rest of the world already enjoying the unique features and advantages of an electric car on their roads.
The Hyundai Kona car is 100 percent electric and comes with zero emission, 482km driving range and can be charged both at home and workplace.
Speaking at the unveiling of the car, assembled by Stallion Group Automobile at Ojo in Lagos, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, said with the unveiling of the car, Nigerians can now drive electric cars, noting that Lagos remains the hub for the nation’s economy and a pacesetter in industrialisation.
“We are not just launching Hyundai Kona, Nigeria’s first electric car assembled in Lagos, we are indeed empowering and creating youth employment. We are also creating opportunity for teeming youths of this nation.
“The future that we see is the future of technology and this is the technology that we are talking about. This is 21st century technology that has been brought into our country. With hardcore manufacturing companies like Stallion Group Automobile, we can begin to see the need to disemphasise mono product, which is oil.
“With the innovation of Hyundai Kona, we do not need to put the pressure on what the pump price of oil is again, what the pump price of petroleum is. All the issues and fights that we are having about prices of petroleum going up and the rest of it will be a thing of the past. This is a way to go and it is the future that we are seeing now.”
Governor Sanwo-Olu, while stressing his administration’s commitment to growth of businesses in the state, said Lagos State government would partner with Stallion Group Automobile as well as private industries in the State and create an enabling environment for them to do well, so that they can create job opportunities for the youths.
He also assured that Lagos State government would be partnering through Ibile Oil and Gas and other private organisations to create different charging points in Lagos, so that people will have opportunity of where they will charge the electric cars.
He said: “This is the first electric car that we are seeing and we as the government need to partner with them. We need to create an enabling environment for them to do well, so that they can employ a lot more youths and create more jobs and pay our youths a lot more money, knowing fully well that the future belongs to you and the future is here.
“And so the state government, working with Ibile Oil and Gas will be creating different charging points in the city, so that people will have an opportunity of where they need to charge the cars.
“For us we see a renewed hope, for us we see a tomorrow coming today, for us we see and believe in the Stallion dream.”
The governor also assured that the ongoing construction of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway would be completed, and when done, would last for about 30 to 40 years.
He said his government was committed to the construction of the expressway, saying that the delay of work on the road was based on the government’s plan to build a first-class infrastructure that people would be proud of when completed.
Managing director of the Stallion Group Automobile, Rohtagi Manish, said the innovation toward building Nigeria’s first electric car was a step towards an eco-friendly green Lagos.
Manish said that the materials used to assemble Nigeria’s First 100 percent electric zero emission car was mostly sourced from local resources.
The vehicle, when fully charged for 9hrs, 35mins could go a distance of 482km (a distance of Lagos to Warri), before it requires another charge.
Governor Sanwo-Olu had later toured the expansive premises of Stallion Group Automobile to see the various innovative work and assembling of various brands of vehicles by the company.
