The Director General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Jelani Aliyu, has harped on the need for Africa to adopt electric vehicles.
Delivering a speech on ‘Why E-Mobility is Necessary for Africa’ at the ongoing London EV Show in Britain, Aliyu said that the continent could not advance more quickly using just fossil fuel-powered cars.
According to him, e-mobility will be able to offer the logistics and transportation required to swiftly advance Africa while preventing the destruction of the continent’s natural surroundings and the harmful effects of climate change.
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He revealed that many African countries and governments had started developing electric vehicle policies that would determine how best to promote the sector, calling for advanced decentralised industrialisation on the African continent.
He added that some of the policies are geared toward addressing areas, such as local production of electric vehicles, charging infrastructure and making sure there is accountability toward the mining and processing of raw materials in the continent.
Speaking on Nigeria’s efforts at promoting local production of electric vehicles, Aliyu said that NADDC had been working closely with relevant local automotive and investment companies on the production of the vehicles.
He further noted that while Hyundai Nigeria had successfully started assembling electric cars in Nigeria, with the Kona EV, other local automotive companies, such as Jet Systems Motors and Max-e had also developed electric vans and motorcycles.
Story was adapted from NAN.
