GIGL partners JET Motor to launch Nigeria’s first Electric Vehicle for deliveries

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GIGL partners JET Motor to launch Nigeria's first electric vehicle for deliveries

GIG Logistics has partnered with JET Motor Company to launch its first electric vehicle (EVs) for deliveries in Lagos.

Speaking at the launch, the Director of Operations Services and Hubs at GIG Logistics, Ocholi Etu, expressed that the new EV fleet stemmed from an agreement that was made about 2 years ago to push the company’s free carbon initiative.

“This started about two years ago when we reached out to Jet Motors to help us push our carbon-free initiative. By carbon-free, I mean we are looking at having total electric vehicles do our deliveries all around Nigeria”

Ocholi Etu, the Director of Operations Services and Hubs at GIG Logistics
GIGL partners JET Motor to launch Nigeria's first electric vehicle for deliveries

He added that GIGL is the first African logistics company to make this bold move.

The new electric vehicles are 100% electric delivery vans well suited for Nigerian roads.

Oluwemimo Joseph, the strategy and projects head and chief financial officer of JET Motor Company, explained that the van can cover a distance of about 240KM, easily factoring in the heavy traffic in the Lagos metropolis. He, however, added that under normal circumstances the van can cover up to 300 km.

Because of the issues with charging infrastructure, GIGL revealed that they will be starting with Intra-state deliveries. According to Ocholi, the 240 KM per charge was enough for a full day’s work in the state.

Asked if the Van won’t be run out of power in heavy traffic, Joseph explained that it won’t as the discharge rate in traffic goes as low as 2%.

“People have asked me, what if you spend 10 hours in traffic, My reply was that the battery will not discharge at that same rate when the vehicle is stationary. So it means even of you spend 10 hours in traffic the rate of discharge will be like 2%. So you can easily cover 240 kilometres if the battery is fully charged”

Oluwemimo Joseph, strategy and projects head and chief financial officer of JET Motor Company

In terms of charging infrastructure, a state of the art charging facility has been built within GIG logistic digital hub in Gbagada which can charge the van to full charge in 2 hours.

GIGL & JET Motor partner to launch Nigeria's first Electric Vehicle for deliveries

The GIGL Director revealed that 4 electric vans have already been delivered and will be used for last mile delivery within Lagos.

As part of the partnership, GIGL will also receive 1 year maintenance of the vehicles and proper training of personnel in use and maintenace.

Speaking of the benefits of the new EV, Ocholi revealed that the van will help the company serve its customers better by providing better services at affordable rates.

Lagos to see more EV delivery vans

The new partnership, according to the company, is long term with no set date of termination. Ocholi revealed that the EV unit received is just the first of many.

He explained that GIG logistics has plans to phase out the ICE and make their fleet completely electric in the future

However, he didn’t give a timeline. According to him, this is because the goal is a continuous process plagued with so many challenges like infrastructure that needs to be solved.

GIGL & JET Motor partner to launch Nigeria's first Electric Vehicle for deliveries

Speaking on its ability to provide local EVs, JET Motor’s project head revealed that they have a plant along Epe.

The company’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Rupani Sanjay added that the plant currently has the capacity to produce between 5 to 7 vehicles in a day.

Sanjay revealed that since its founding in 2018, the Nigerian automobile company has produced about 500 units.

He explained that the EVs have a European design with Asian technology in the mix. It also uses a lithium-ion battery that has a lifetime of about 5 years

A Giant step for the country

The launch of the locally made electric vehicle is a major step for the country. Mr Ocholi Etu commented that the new EV tech is an appeal to the government to meet halfway in the drive for a greener Nigeria.

He explained that the government can help significantly by providing infrastructure like charging points, assisting with taxes on parts and investing in the space.

He was not alone as Wemimo also highlighted that government support is very important because of the poor infrastructure in the country.

He particularly pointed out that the production of charging machines and establishing charging stations across the country was important

GIGL partners JET Motor to launch Nigeria's first electric vehicle for deliveries

The future is to go green

Carbon neutrality has been the main focus of the global business world in the last five years. The logistics space has been attributed as one of the largest contributors to carbon emission which leads to ozone layer depletion.

As a company that is also very focused on technology, GIGL believes that the future is to go green.

Ocholi revealed that adopting EVs aligns with the company’s goal of becoming a 0 carbon company. He highlighted that EVs are eco-friendly, noiseless and efficient in terms of maintenance cost.

Electric vehicles have 70% lower maintenance cost compared to the internal combustion engine (ICE)

Ocholi Etu, the Director of Operations Services and Hubs at GIG Logistics

EVs are the Future. In some part of the world like the EU and the US, they are already considering the possibility of phasing out the internal combustion engine.

The GIG director believes that in no distant time it’s also going to happen in Nigeria

Mr, Joseph however called for urgency. According to him, by 2050, the manufacturing of ICE would have been completely discontinued.

In summary,

JET Motors revealed that it will keep on expanding the EV infrastructure like charging ports for its partners across the state. However, Mr joseph added that it needs the support of the government.

He enjoined the Nigerian government to follow the steps of other governments like Norway and the UK that are giving discounts and incentives to hasten the adoption of EVs in their regions.

https://technext.ng/2021/02/27/how-gig-logistics-and-visa-help-merchants-deliver-goods-at-cheaper-prices-locally-and-abroad/

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