Lagos gov unveils Nigeria´s first electric car, Hyundai Kona

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Friday unveiled Nigeria’s first locally-assembled full electric car, Hyundai Kona, aimed at reducing pressure on use of petrol.

The Hyundai Kona car, manufactured by Stallion Group, is 100 per cent electric and comes with zero emission and can be charged both at home and workplace.

Sanwo-Olu said at the unveiling in Lagos, “The future that we see is the future of technology and this is the technology that we are talking about. This is 21st Century technology that has been brought into our country.

“With an innovation of Hyundai Kona, we do not need to put the pressure on what is the pump price of oil again.

“All the issues and fight that we are having about prices of petroleum products going up and the rest of it will be a thing of the past.”

He also said, “This is a way to go, and it is the future that we are seeing now.

“This is the first electric car that we are seeing and we as the government need to partner with them.”

Sanwo-Olu said there was a need to create an enabling environment for the company to do well, so that it could employ a lot more youths.

The governor said that with the unveiling of the Hyundai Kona electric car, youths would be employed and empowered for greater opportunities.

According to him, the state government will partner with Ibile Oil and Gas and other private organisations to create different charging points in the city, so that people will have where to charge the cars.

“For us, we see a renewed hope. For us, we see a tomorrow coming today. For us, we see and believe in the Stallion dream,” the governor said.

The governor commended the Stallion Group for believing in the Lagos and Nigeria dream, and revamping the moribund asset located along Lagos-Badagry Expressway.

In his address, the Managing Director of the Stallion Group, Rohtagi Manish, said that the innovation was a step towards an eco-friendly, green Lagos.

Manish said that the material used to assemble Nigeria’s First 100 per cent electric zero emission car was mostly sourced from local resources.

The vehicle, when fully charged for nine hours 35 minutes, can go a distance of 482km (equivalent of Lagos to Warri), before it will require charging again.