The National Automotive Design and Development Council, on Monday, introduced a locally assembled electric car to members of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts.
The unveiling was done on the premises of the National Assembly Complex, Abuja.
The committee had held an investigative hearing on audit queries issued by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation against ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
Director-General of the NADDC, Mr Jelani Aliyu, had appeared before the committee to defend queries against the council, during which he explained the innovations introduced by the council in the automotive industry.
Aliyu said the electric car could travel for 482km on a single charge and does not use petrol nor diesel.
He said, “You don’t need to line up at the filling station waiting for fuel. Once you charge it, you have about 482km of electric charge. No emission. No smoke. Very quiet. And the electric car has very far less power than the traditional petrol engine.”
The NADDC boss also noted that the car has the advantage of being charged through any outlet used for air conditioners or refrigerators – at 220watts or 230watts from any normal outlet.
He said, “It takes about eight to 10 hours to charge, while there is a fast charger that cuts it by 50 per cent, to about four to five hours. And there is a super-super charger that brings it down to one hour or less.”
Aliyu said the NADDC was working on building charging stations along the federal highways across the country. Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu, asked about access and affordability of the car for the masses.
Responding, Aliyu said, “For the common man, we are working with three domestic banks, namely Wema, Jaiz and Zenith banks to provide single-digit financing for ‘Made in Nigeria’ vehicles or ‘Assembled in Nigeria’ vehicles. We believe (that) it will not just be for this type of vehicle but any other vehicles produced by Innoson, Honda, Elizade, Dangote.”
The NADDC boss expressed optimism that the current price of N24m for a unit would drop over the years, noting that efforts are ongoing to build industrial parks in Edo, Kaduna and Nnewi, where more local content will be infused in the product.
Pix: First Nigeria made electric car
