By STANLEY NWANOSIKE

Roxettes Eco-Drives Ltd, an indigenous car company, says it will launch an Electric Vehicle (EV) in Nigeria and the entire globe with about 320 direct workers for a start.

The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Dr Kaycee Orji, told newsmen in Enugu on Thursday that the cars would be rolled out in the country before the end of the year.

Orji said that the assembly plant, which would be situated in Enugu, would also employ 800 indirect workers as suppliers and providers of day-to-day services for the people that would work at the plant.

“We are working on the assembly lines getting into Nigeria in a matter of months before going into vehicle furniture production, but currently doing research on batteries and tyres.

“The company has been recognised and licensed by the Federal Government to commence full manufacturing and assembling of Electric, Gasoline, LPG, CNG and Hybrid vehicles in Nigeria.

“But we are starting with the EV assembly plant first,” he said.

Orji, a leading industrialist in the country, said that the company’s brand of vehicles would be known as ROXETTES MOTORS, with a unique logo which would be unveiled in a few weeks.

“Roxettes Motors is set to become Nigeria and Africa’s Tesla equivalent with full deployment of technology in the production process and will possibly compete with Tesla EVs,” he said.

He said that the move was in response to the global push for an eco-friendly vehicle, which aligned with Nigeria being a signatory to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

“Roxettes Eco-Drives Ltd. will be involved in the production of cars (compact and subcompact cars, midsize sedans, SUVs, Buses, large trucks and luxury cars), for a wide range of clientele not only in Nigeria but across Africa and the world.

“Our mission is to run a highly successful business entity that is known for assembling and manufacturing durable and affordable automobiles for both the rich and the general populace.

“We want to be listed amongst the top 10 car brands, globally.

“Roxettes Motors brand of Electric Vehicles (EV) will be tough, affordable, comfortable and will come with high mileage and a minimum of four years warranty on the batteries.

“No fuel, no noise and no routine servicing as it comes with no engines.

“It will go down in history as the safest brands of vehicles in Nigeria that you can drive between five days to 25 days on full charge without plugging back to charging source.

“Our EVs will come with wall mounted DC Chargers that will take about 4 to 5 hours to get a full charge at home. Though floor mounted DC fast chargers take between 45 to 50 minutes to get a full charge,” Orji said.

The Roxettes CEO noted that the company had critically examined and analyzed its chances in the industry based on the location of the business and wide range of cars that it would be rolling out from the car assembly plant.

According to him, the interest in driving EV cars in Nigeria and Roxettes Motors emergence attested to the fact that the Nigerian economy was matured to welcome the new global trend.

“It is true that some people may argue the workability and success of EV in Nigeria due to the glaring epileptic nature of electricity supply in the country, but this has been sorted out by the fact that this brand of vehicles takes a few hours to get a full charge.

“Since it will run for weeks before coming back to the charging spot, it has actually answered many questions.

“Some everyday users may just have to charge it only 20 times in a year,” Orji said.

The industrialist said that the vehicles would help Nigerians to forget the experiences and nightmares associated with fuel scarcity as they would no longer be visiting filling stations but have charging stations at home.

“Nigerians will have no business worrying about the challenges of combustion engines and the health challenges that come with the emitted carbon.

“Also, with the EV cars, there will be no more worries engaging the services of unskilled motor mechanics as we will set up charging stations and vehicle maintenance outlets across Nigeria,” he said. (NAN)

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