The first, to be introduced in 2021, is a 12-seat bus manufactured locally from a range of materials. It has a range of 212 kilometers and can be charged in 35 minutes through a solar-powered system. In a recent test run funded by the company, the buses carried 35,000 passengers in Maiduguri in just one month.
Deborah Maidawa, an electrical building services engineer who lives in Maiduguri, believes Gajibo’s EVs are a good way to meet local needs. “The incorporation of solar gives the vehicles an edge over other EVs, and I believe they will flood the Nigerian market,” she says.
A new gas-powered passenger minibus with an automatic transmission can cost around 5 million naira (about $10,000). Gazibo says it would cost about the same to buy one of its solar-powered 12-seaters. He plans to launch 500 units in eight Nigerian cities in the coming months and is hopeful that this time he will be able to sell them.
“Our products are quite affordable, and the cost of the vehicle is one of the main things we take into account,” he says. “The only way to achieve this is to completely design and build these vehicles locally.”
