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Why Nigeria Is Ready For Electric Cars Today (Opinion)
I would love to clarify a few things about electric cars that strangely, many Nigerians do not seem to know.
Some people have stated severally that “Nigeria is not ready for electric cars, where is the electricity for it, electricity will be constant first”, etc forgetting that they charge their phones every day. These assertions are wrong and I will explain.
Iwill try to make my write-up as concise as possible.
NB: I will base all my explanations on the best electric car currently – the Tesla Model 3.
Range
Electric cars can last several miles on one charge. The Tesla 3 Long Range version lasts 325 miles / 500km on one charge.
Let’s consider this:
Ikeja-Lekki is 30 miles (according to Google directions) & Lekki-Yaba is 20 miles. We’ll be more realistic and factor in the mad Lagos traffic & double the distances. So, (Ikeja–Lekki = 60miles & Yaba-Lekki = 40 miles). Let’s also double that figure to represent the to & fro distance which now makes (Ikeja –Lekki to & fro with serious traffic = 120miles & Yaba-Lekki to & fro with serious traffic = 80 miles).
So, 325 miles / 80 miles ≈ 4 days
325 miles / 120 miles ≈ 3 days
This means that worst-case scenario, a Tesla 3 can take you from home to work for 3 days for Ikeja-Lekki route and a good 4 days for Yaba-Lekki route ON ONE CHARGE.
Lagos to Ibadan =130km
Lagos to Benin =314km
And, Lagos to Asaba = 436km
This means you can take a full charge straight to Asaba without bothering about recharging. For Ibadan, you will go & return without any need to recharge.
You will all agree that this is very good.
Charging
The next obvious question is “how do we charge?”
Really, this isn’t that difficult. Just like we have filling stations now, charging centres will be made available on major roads & parking lots. However, Tesla 3 takes 30mins to reach 50%, 60 mins to reach 75% and 75mins for a full charge. Charging can be done once you get to your destination, the charging attendants at the recharge centre handle your car & you can pick it up later.
Think of it as a car wash, you park your car, go back home or you pick a drink & watch a football match until your car is ready. This will even create businesses and jobs as more charging centres will open up in every nook & cranny of the country to cash in.
A whole building on several floors can be converted to a parking lot and fitted with charging ports or hotels, bars, shopping malls like ShopRite installing charging ports at every parking space.
You also have the option to instal a charging station in your house.
Charging Rates
You’ll be surprised to find out how cheap it will be to charge an electric car even as bad as our current power situation is. The Tesla 3 has a battery capacity of 75 kilowatts.
The current PHCN rate is an average of N27 per kw which means to charge a Tesla 3 Long Range version fully will cost;
27 naira x 75 kilowatts = N2,025.
Compare it to how many thousands you will spend to fuel your car from Lagos to Asaba or Ikeja-Lekki for 4 days.
Moreso, don’t forget solar power will be cheaper and businesses are just good at finding cheaper ways to maximize profit.
Car Price
There is not much to explain here.
The Tesla 3 costs $35,000 ≈ N12,775,000
The Toyota Camry 2019 costs $25,000 ≈ N9,125,000
Just 3 million naira more is a bargain as you will not need to continue spending large sums on fuel and constant maintenance. Kindly note that these prices do not include destination (shipping and clearing) cost to Nigeria.
The Future
Other Benefits
a. Electric cars have zero-emission. Furthermore, Electric Cars do not produce carbon dioxide like our fossil-fueled cars do so Nigerian cities will stop topping global pollution lists.
b. Electric cars are cheaper to maintain and more durable.
c. Electric cars are quiet.
