SAGLEV CEO allays fear over electric vehicle charging

The Chairman and CEO of SAGLEV Electromobility Nigeria, Gbenga Faleye, has allayed the fears of electric vehicle users over the limited spaces to charge their vehicles, saying a 20KVA generator can charge the vehicles. Faleye stated this during a facility tour, stressing that electric vehicles afford the opportunity to charge the vehicles at home without […]

The Chairman and CEO of SAGLEV Electromobility Nigeria, Gbenga Faleye, has allayed the fears of electric vehicle users over the limited spaces to charge their vehicles, saying a 20KVA generator can charge the vehicles.

Faleye stated this during a facility tour, stressing that electric vehicles afford the opportunity to charge the vehicles at home without going to a station.

“If you have a 20 kVA generator, you can charge an EV. In the US, 80 per cent of electric vehicle drivers are going to charge at home, because, think about it, you cannot bring a petrol station to your house but you can bring your own personal EV petrol station to your house.

“And look, over 50 per cent of the urban-dwelling Nigerian population have access to over 15 hours of electricity, not a day, in a whole week,” he said.

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He added that the electric vehicle manufacturing firm is putting infrastructure in place to increase electric vehicle chargers, saying it has secured a partnership to bring in 10,000 chargers in the next five years.

“So, we have partners who are committed to bringing in 10,000 chargers into Nigeria over the next five years,” he said.

He revealed that the firm production volume is currently at 2,600 vehicles per year, hinting on the plan to increase their working schedules to produce 10,000 vehicles per year.

“So, our installed capacity as we are right now is 2,600 cars a year. And apart from that, that is in one shift, five days a week. So, the factory is not even anywhere near full capacity.

“By the time we start two and a half shifts, which would be roughly if you are working on Saturday, we will have 10,000 cars and that is in one factory,” he said.

The Director General of National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Joseph Osanipin, commended the effort of the firm, saying its vision aligns with the federal government’s initiative to promote the adoption of electric vehicles in Nigeria.

The NADDC Director General, who was represented by Felicia Oyegbolu, the council’s Deputy Director and Head of Press and Protocol, assured of local patronage.

“This plant is of international standard with a capacity to assemble different categories of electric vehicles, including buses. There are many Nigerians who do not know they can easily buy brand new locally assembled vehicles in Nigeria. They need to know what our assembly plants are doing,” he said.