Prices of Electric Vehicles (EV) have gone down as automotive companies shift focus on making non-gasoline automobiles, a new research has shown.
Similarly, it is forecast that by 2035 and 2040, electric vehicles would make up more than half of all vehicle sales worldwide.
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To this end, the Federal Government of Nigeria has been charged to immediately evolve an electric vehicle policy in order not to be left behind as the global auto industry makes relentless move to phase out the petrol engine vehicles.
According to a report published by Lux Research, titled: “The Electric Vehicle Inflection Tracker: 2020 Edition,” which was emailed to our correspondent, most automakers are now focused on making battery electric vehicles (BEVs) that are “profitable while addressing consumer pain points related to charging speed and range.”
The researchers at Lux, a US based research organization, say the BEV manufacturers are also occupied with addressing the fears consumers have about battery-powered vehicles.
“Consumers want to know, how far can this electric car go and what will it cost?
“Fortunately, BEVs are consistently making progress on how far they can go, with the average range now 230 miles.
“Since 2011, range has consistently increased, with a CAGR of 13.7%,” said Lux Research Senior Analyst and lead author of the report, Christopher Robinson.
He added: “Prices have also gone down, with the average vehicle’s base MSRP in 2019 at $33,901, down from $42,189 in 2016.
“These changes are making it easier for consumers to own an electric vehicle.”
No EV policy in Nigeria
Daily Trust reports that Nigeria, despite having an auto policy in place which is currently being updated, does not have any policy on seamless migration to electric vehicles.
But the Director-General of the National Automotive Design and Development Company (NADDC), Dr. Jelani Aliyu recently assured that it is partnering with automakers to realize the dream of embracing electric vehicles.
It would be recalled that Stallion Motors, Nigeria’s leading auto assembler, also recently assured that before the year 2020 runs out, the company would officially launch into the Nigerian market Hyundai – Kona, the acclaimed number one Electric car.
If this promise by the company’s vice chairman, Mr. Haresh Vaswani, was anything to go by, Nigeria would officially join the rest of the world in embracing electric cars.
Expert’s view
But an automotive expert, Mr. Luqman Mamudu, in a chat with Daily Trust said Nigeria, as a country with existing automotive policy, cannot exclude itself from the pursuit of “this environmentally proper technology wave even if it wanted to.”
Therefore, Mamudu, who is a Principal Partner/CEO, Transtech Industrial Consulting and former acting DG of NADDC, stressed that Nigeria must urgently evolve its EV policy which should include “programs to attract local and foreign investors.”
He said: “It’s certainly true that consumer adoption of the EVs is slowed by concerns with battery strength and lifespan compared with Gasoline engines.
“Ongoing research to address these concerns is intense and appears to be yielding positive results.
“Currently warrantees for EV are about 130,000 Km and eight years but power packs that can last over 1m km and for 16 years have been recently developed.
“This means that global adoption will increase within the next 10 years.
“Global sales of EVs is currently 7% but given the advances in Electric Drive systems, sales growth is expected to overtake gasoline engine by 2030-35.”
He warned that if the Federal Government did not act fast by evolving a policy and move along with the rest of the world, second hand or used EVs might find their way into Nigeria with already weakened batteries.
“Nigeria can start by encouraging the development of infrastructure.
“Charging infrastructure is practically nonexistent in Nigeria but there are advances in development of smart chargers.
“This may suffice for a while for limited EV owners,” he said.
