Lagos State–backed e-hailing service Lagride has rolled out 100 new electric vehicles (EVs) into its fleet, signalling a bold step toward greener mobility in Nigeria’s busiest city. The move forms part of a three-year plan to introduce 3,000 EVs, anchored on flexible financing schemes that allow drivers to lease the cars and eventually own them. With a 333-kilometre driving range, each vehicle can comfortably make a Lagos–Ibadan round trip on a single charge, a first in the state’s ride-hailing ecosystem.
The rollout places Lagride among a growing class of Nigerian mobility players experimenting with electrification. Ride-hailing giant Bolt unveiled electric tricycles in Lagos earlier this year through a partnership with SGX Mobility. Similarly, Foltï Technologies Limited introduced its own EV fleet via the eDryv platform, while MaxNg has been piloting two- and three-wheeler EV deployments in select markets. For Lagride, however, the ambition is much larger—using scale and asset-financing models to push electric adoption among everyday drivers.
The pivot has been accelerated by CIG Motors, the Chinese automaker that assumed control of Lagride’s operations in March. The company has consistently advocated for more sustainable driver arrangements, identifying EVs as a long-term strategy to cut costs, reduce emissions, and lessen dependence on petrol—a commodity that has become both scarce and unaffordable in Nigeria’s fuel-price crisis.
Still, challenges abound. Nigeria’s charging infrastructure is skeletal, with only a handful of stations concentrated in major cities. EV batteries remain prohibitively expensive, and many drivers are turning instead to compressed natural gas (CNG) conversions, which offer cheaper running costs in the short term. Analysts say Lagride’s EV rollout will not transform the market overnight but underscores a critical message: Nigeria’s electric mobility journey has begun, albeit cautiously. If sustained, Lagos could become the testbed for scaling EV adoption across the country.
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