The National Automotive Design and Development Council, NADDC, in collaboration with the Stallion Group, has unveiled the first locally-made electric car, Hyundai Kona.
Speaking at the unveiling in Abuja on Friday, the NADDC Director-General, Jelani Aliyu, said that by 2025, at least 30 percent of passenger vehicles in Nigeria will be electric.
According to him, electric cars have come to stay, adding that Nigeria would not be left out in the transition from fuel-powered vehicles to electric cars.
Mr Aliyu said the Federal Government has invested about $1 billion in the auto industry in Nigeria as at 2019.
The NADDC boss said the Stallion Group, which led the innovation in electric cars in Nigeria, has invested about $300 million in Nigeria.
Also speaking, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, said electric cars would lead to reduction in fuel consumption and environmental degradation.
He said the Trade Ministry has been working with NADDC to review the automotive policy to further strengthen the automotive industry in Nigeria.
He encouraged automotive plants to invest in developing electric vehicles in Nigeria.
The Chief Executive Officer of Stallion Group, Anant Badjatya, said the company, which has operated for over four decades in the country, has done significant investments in the country.
Mr Badjatya said electric cars are the future of the automobile industry and Nigeria should not delay keying into it.
He said Hyundai Kona is powered 100 percent electrically and has zero-emission.
