By Abbas Nazil
The Federal Government has approved tax waivers for nearly 4,000 electric vehicles imported into Nigeria during the first half of 2026, in a move aimed at accelerating the country’s transition to cleaner transportation despite persistent electricity shortages and inadequate charging infrastructure.
The approvals represent the first batch processed under a new government initiative designed to promote electric vehicle adoption through fiscal incentives and local vehicle assembly programmes, according to government data reviewed by Reuters.
The development comes as Nigeria seeks to reduce its dependence on petrol and diesel-powered vehicles and advance the objectives of its 2022 Energy Transition Plan, which targets electric vehicles accounting for 60 per cent of the country’s vehicle fleet by 2050.
However, electric vehicles currently make up less than one per cent of Nigeria’s vehicle fleet, with dealers estimating that only tens of thousands of EVs are presently on the country’s roads.
To encourage greater adoption, the Federal Government exempted electric vehicles from value-added tax in 2024 and reduced import duties on EVs from five per cent to zero in 2026.
The incentives are expected to lower the cost of acquiring electric vehicles and make cleaner mobility more attractive, particularly following the removal of the petrol subsidy in 2023 and the resulting increase in fuel prices.
Despite the policy support, Nigeria’s transition to electric mobility faces a major obstacle in the country’s unreliable electricity supply.
The national grid currently supplies around 4,000 megawatts to a population of more than 200 million people, leaving households and businesses heavily dependent on petrol and diesel generators to supplement inadequate grid power.
The electricity challenge has also affected businesses supporting the emerging electric vehicle market, as charging stations, dealerships and battery-swapping operators often rely on generators whenever grid electricity fails.
Bolanle Boboye, an executive at Saglev, Nigeria’s first electric vehicle manufacturer affiliated with Chinese automaker Dongfeng, said the country should pursue the energy and transport transitions simultaneously rather than delay EV adoption until the electricity sector becomes fully reliable.
Boboye noted that electric vehicles could still deliver environmental benefits even when charged using electricity generated from diesel-powered sources, while stressing the need for Nigeria to avoid falling behind other countries in the global transition to electric mobility.
Another major constraint is the limited availability of public charging infrastructure.
A policy brief reviewed by Reuters estimated that Nigeria had only about 48 public EV charging stations as of late 2025, with most concentrated in Lagos and Abuja, compared with more than 500 stations in South Africa.
Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan had projected about 60 charging stations by 2030, highlighting the significant infrastructure gap that must be addressed if the country’s long-term electric mobility ambitions are to be achieved.
As a result, many EV owners rely on home charging, using portable charging cables connected to household electricity supplies.
However, frequent power outages mean that even private charging can be unreliable, pushing vehicle owners and mobility companies towards alternative technologies.
Extended-range electric vehicles, which combine battery-powered propulsion with a small fuel-powered range extender, are consequently gaining popularity among Nigerian motorists.
Boboye said sales of such vehicles had doubled this year as consumers sought the lower operating costs of electric propulsion while retaining the security of a fuel-powered backup.
Chinese manufacturers, including BYD and Geely, are also expanding their presence in Nigeria with electric and hybrid vehicles considered more suitable for a market where electricity supply remains inconsistent.
Tim Motors, Geely’s Nigerian partner, said new-energy vehicles, including electric and hybrid models, now account for about two per cent of its vehicle sales.
The company said Nigeria’s large automotive market provides an opportunity to gradually replace the country’s predominantly used-vehicle fleet with newer and cleaner alternatives.
Beyond passenger cars, motorcycles and tricycles could become an important driver of Nigeria’s electric mobility transition because of their widespread use and high exposure to rising petrol costs.
Nigeria has more than 15 million motorcycles, while commercial motorcycle and tricycle operators have been particularly affected by higher fuel prices.
Stanley Nwankwo, co-founder of electric mobility start-up Donda X Limited, said electric motorcycles and tricycles could reduce operating expenses by about two-thirds compared with petrol-powered alternatives.
To overcome charging limitations, companies such as MAX and Spiro are investing in battery-swapping networks that allow riders to replace depleted batteries with fully charged ones within minutes.
The system could reduce downtime for commercial operators while allowing batteries to be charged centrally whenever electricity is available.
The Federal Government’s approval of tax waivers for nearly 4,000 electric vehicles therefore marks a significant step in Nigeria’s clean transport ambitions, but experts and industry players face the challenge of ensuring that fiscal incentives are matched by reliable electricity, wider charging infrastructure and affordable electric mobility options.
Without corresponding investment in the power and charging networks required to support EVs, lower taxes alone may not be sufficient to deliver the large-scale transition envisioned under Nigeria’s 2050 electric mobility target.