Operators in the transport business and other businesses have been called upon to embrace electric vehicles as their choice for mass mobility in the country because it gives the best returns on investment when compared with fuel vehicles.
Sanjay Rupani, Director of Sales for Jets Systems Limited, manufacturer of Jet Mover electric buses, disclosed this while speaking at the 2023 Nigeria Auto Journalists Association’s training workshop held in Lagos with the theme, “Autogas/Electric Vehicles as Alternatives”
He said while fuel combustion and CNG engines are costly to maintain, EVs have the lowest maintenance cost and also release zero-emission to ensure a cleaner environment, unlike fuel engines that emit gases and pollute the ecosystem.
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According to Sanjay Rupani, aside from the obvious advantages like lowest maintenance and high efficiency, electric buses do not produce exhaust gas in the process of use, and there is no problem of air pollution compared with traditional buses.
“In the city, there are many vehicles on the road, and the traffic lights are often encountered, so the vehicles must stop and start constantly. For conventional fuel buses, this means more than just consumption. A lot of energy, but it also means more car emissions.
Speaking further, Rupani explained that compared with traditional fuel vehicles, electric vehicles are easy to operate, simple in structure, and have fewer driving parts.
“There is no need to change oil, oil pump, silencer, etc., nor to add cooling water. The maintenance workload is less.
Rupani said Electric Jet Mover, which is in their stable, adopts a battery with large capacity and high energy density, and can reach 105.7 kWh, with safety performance reaching IP68 protection level that can guarantee the drive in extreme conditions.
“The life span of an EV battery is about eight to 10 years, and the bigger vehicles (Jet Mover) can do about 300km on a full charge; that’s like moving from Lagos to Ibadan and back to Lagos or from Asaba to Warri and back to Asaba,” Rupani said.
In the area of charging, Rupani explained that Electric Jet Mover buses adopt quick charging mode, which can charge from 0 to 80% within 2 hours, saving charging time.
“Compare to fuel vehicles, electric Jet Movers don’t need to maintain the driving motor like fuel engines, because there is no fuel filter, no block issues caused by bad quality fuel, and you don’t need to change the engine oil.
“Also, electric Jet Movers do not have a gearbox, it reverses the vehicle by reversing the motor. So, there are no worries on maintaining and repairing gearbox issues. In these ways, electric Jet Movers are convenient to run on the road,” he added.
Rupani also called on the Federal Government to deepen the electric vehicle sub-sector through provision of an enabling environment that will attract investments.
Earlier in his presentation, Chairman of National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP), Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim said not less than 9,000 out of 10,000 filling stations in Nigeria have been approved to operate as multi-fuel stations, where vehicle owners can refuel for autogas, petrol and diesel.
He said the move was part of the government’s efforts towards cushioning the effects of petrol subsidy removal on Nigerians.
He said: “Under NGEP, we have what we call the multi-fuel scheme whereby we do not intend to shut down the current petrol stations that we have in the country, about 10,000 of them. But rather, we have carried out an audit whereby 9,000 out of 10,000 of them qualify to retrofit to become multi-fuel.