By Moses Akaigwe
The production of the initial units of Innoson Electric Vehicles and the delivery of the first batch of the 100 CNG buses ordered just last month by the Federal Government are in fulfillment of the promise made to President Bola Tinubu and Nigerians by auto industry icon, Chief Innocent Chukwuma.
This was disclosed on Saturday by the chairman/CEO of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Ltd (IVM), Nnewi, himself while commenting on the news of the recent test-drive of one of his company’s electric cars.
He also spoke on Innoson Vehicles’ plan to deliver about 25 percent of the total number of compressed natural gas buses ordered by the Federal Government to the Presidency this week.
Chief Chukwuma said on phone that he had assured President Tinubu during the visit to Aso Rock Villa a few weeks ago that Innoson would, in tandem with the presidential initiative on alternative energy for transportation, prioritise the manufacture and roll-out of IVM EVs and accelerate the production of fully-CNG vehicles in Nnewi.
“I had promised Mr. President that, as the pioneer manufacturer of CNG vehicles in Nigeria, Innoson would contribute substantially to the success story of his Presidential Initiative on CNG, and that my factory would be delivering a good number of buses monthly to the Presidency,” the Innoson chairman stated. He also recalled that he had at inception of the plant more than 13 years ago, assured Nigerians, and reiterated so many times subsequently, that the Nnewi plant would continue to manufacture vehicles based on the needs and requirements of the local market without compromising on quality standards.
The recent production of the first units of electric cars by Innoson Vehicles, according to him, is in keeping with this commitment. In October, 2023, Chief Chukwuma had hinted of the coming of IVM EVs when he said in a press in a press interview: “I will shock you with what I am going to do with electric vehicles. I am manufacturing vehicles; if you want me to power them with electric, I will power them with electric, and If you want CNG, diesel, or petrol, I will do it for you satisfactorily.”
In the interview on Saturday, he remarked: “I feel personally happy that we are fulfilling these pledges to Mr. President and the Nigerian market with our electric cars and the prompt delivery of the first batch of CNG buses to the Presidency next week (this week) as promised only last month (August).
“And, before the end of next month, we will be manufacturing and delivering another 25 percent of the 100 President Tinubu ordered during my visit to Aso Rock Villa.”
It was learnt that the first batch of IVM CNG buses left Nnewi last weekend en route Abuja where they will officially be delivered to the Federal Government.
“Let me use this opportunity to re-assure the government and all vehicle buyers in Nigeria that at Innoson, we have the capacity to produce full CNG vehicles, hybrid vehicles {that run on CNG and diesel or petrol}, and now EVs, in addition to vehicles that are powered by petrol or diesel alone,” Chief Chukwuma stated..
The prompt commencement of the delivery of the CNG buses by Innoson contrasts sharply with the long delays by other auto companies who received similar orders since last year from the Presidential committee charged with driving the initiative, but commenced the delivery only recently, even as others are still in the ‘go-slow.’
The news of the addition of electric cars to the line-up of IVM products was broken last week when Innoson’s Head of Corporate Communications, Mr. Cornel Osigwe, posted a picture of one of the cars on Facebook and an unedited video of his test-drive of the vehicle.
Osigwe had said in one of the posts: “For the benefit of doubt, the new Innoson Electric Vehicles, as well as the one I test-drove, haven’t been certified and approved by the Innoson Vehicle quality control department for sales.
“It is still undergoing the final round of checks. More so, it hasn’t been officially announced or launched by the company, but I needed to create a buzz before the official announcement, and then I did my magic.”
Daily Sun was informed at the weekend that despite this obvious clarification, the Head of Corporate Communications’ social media handles and the company’s official phone lines have been inundated with messages and calls.
Some of the curious car freaks and intending buyers making the inquiries were even prepared to make upfront payments just to be among the early users of the IVM electric vehicles, Osigwe disclosed.
However, it was also confirmed that some of the first batch of IVM electric vehicles are now in possession of a few owner-test-drivers whose feedback will be vital as the company prepares for commercial production and official launch or introduction of the latest Innoson Vehicles product.
One of the early owners, Chief Sunny Anajekwu, described the IVM electric car as the best vehicle he has ever driven, saying his motoring experience with it has been seamless and very satisfactory.
“The car is already very popular. It has been drawing attention everywhere I have driven it to many towns in Anambra State,” Anajekwu gleefully said on Saturday, recalling an interesting experience at Nwagu in Agulu, where he parked the car and it instantly attracted a crowd with some of the admirers saying they had seen the picture on the internet.
He disclosed that a full charge using a normal electricity socket at home takes the car through 350 kilometres.
Chief Anajekwu said he was getting ready for a long drive from his hometown, Adazi-Nnukwu, in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, to his base in Lagos, adding that he would make an arrangement to charge the car again in the course of the journey just in case the initial charge doesn’t take him to Lagos.
