American leading automobile manufacturer, General Motors (GM) is on rampage – the company has announced that it plans to lunch as many as 20 all electric cars by 2013 as part of its long-term push to an “all-electric” fleet as governments globally embrace fuel efficiency. This development leaves Nigeria and other third world countries in intensive unit so to speak.
Because of poverty and terrible and visionless leadership, Nigeria remains one of the leading dump grounds for fuel/diesel engine used vehicles in the world meaning that the country would be caught off-guards when the entire world would switch over to electric cars. Recall that India has also announced its plan to go electric but Nigeria is still grappling with a leadership that is busy fuelling ethnic and religious biases rather than evolve policies that would steer Nigeria away from crude oil dependent.
Meanwhile, GM’s Executive Vice President, Mark Reuss said the leading auto maker will introduce within 18 months two new models built on the learnings of the all-electric Chevrolet Bolt, which it launched in December 2016. According to him, “General Motors believes in an all-electric future. Although that future won’t happen overnight, GM is committed to driving increased usage and acceptance of electric vehicles through no-compromise solutions that meet our customers’ needs.”
The Bolt, the first all-electric vehicle aimed at the middle market, now faces competition from Tesla’s Model 3, which has won admiration among many environmentalists and car enthusiasts as a leader in new car technologies. Car companies are investing heavily in all-electric vehicles as officials from China to Europe emphasize the need for more energy-efficient vehicles, even as today’s fleet remains overwhelmingly populated with conventional autos.
Officials from Britain and France are among those who have said they plan to block sales of diesel or gasoline-fueled cars in 2040, while Norway has set a 2025 deadline. China has set a target that at least 12 percent of cars must be hybrid or electric by 2020.
GM got a boost Monday from Deutsche Bank, which upgraded the company’s stock to “buy” and said it enjoys an advantage over competitors in “autonomous and new mobility models.”
The big question for us as Nigerians is; with all these changes happening around the automobile industry around the globe, what would be the fate of Nigeria as a nation with no plan whatsoever to address the issue? Your guess is as good as ours.
