GIG Logistics. Jet Motor Co sign MoU on EV supplies

A bold significant step forward for Africa’s fastest-growing e-commerce logistics company was taken last weekend following the signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) between GIG Logistics and Jet Motor Companies in Lagos.

Under the agreement, which has been in the pipeline for the past two years, Jet Motors Company, franchise owners and assemblers and local assemblers of Jet Mover range of vehicles for different applications will be assembling, delivering and maintenance of Jet Mover Electric Vehicles to Africa’s fastest growing e-commerce logistics company, GIG Logistics.

Speaking at the media briefing before both parties put pen to paper to sign the MoU, Ocholi Etu, director of operations, said that as a responsible and forward looking company, GIG Logistics is committed to a sustainable future for the environment, people and businesses it supports. Etu declared that, the launch of the electric vans is the first practical step in the company’s journey towards carbon neutrality, which is a core strategy for the organisation.

According to him, ‘’We are the first Nigerian and, perhaps, African company in the logistics space to be able to deploy Electric Vans for operations. We are able to achieve this feat due to our partnership with JET Motor Company, also a futuristic player in the automotive space, with focus on sustainability. We are proud of our carbon neutrality focus and this is our first physical step on the path to becoming a zero carbon logistic company’’.

Etu stated that, the entire global logistics industry is presently focused on issues around environmental sustainability, as reports have shown logistics as an industry contributes the largest share of carbon emissions.

While referring GIG Logistics as a technology-driven company that has embraced electric vehicles (EV) because they are eco-friendly, have zero emissions, zero noise pollution, and lower maintenance costs, among others, he also stated that, studies have revealed that EVs have 70% lower maintenance costs compared to the internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

This means that in the immediate and long run, GIG services will become more affordable, and will in turn enable it to render cost-friendly excellent service to our teeming customers, while taking e-commerce in Nigeria and beyond to greater heights.

He encourage the federal government to take a cue from what GIG have done by investing in sustainable energy infrastructure for the transportation sector, helping to create a whole new ecosystem that will expand opportunities for Nigeria’s businesses, stressing that, the transition from ICE to EV must be urgently prioritised.

On his part, Wemimo Joseph, head of strategy at Jet Motor Company said his company is extremely proud to be a disruptor in Africa’s transportation sector, and described the new electric vehicle showcase as a significant example of a strategic investment in innovation that meets today’s needs and rises to the demands of the future.

In his submission, ‘’JET is so proud to be delivering these EVs to GIG Logistics. We consider them a worthy partner in logistics mobility innovation. We strongly believe that with their record of accomplishment in the industry, they will best represent this much-needed shift towards the future. As an indigenous vehicle, assembly company that is future-oriented, sustainability is at the core of our operational strategy’’.

At Jet, we believe the future of automobile is electric and not internal combustion engine. To this end, we have committed resources to a future-forward strategy that includes building an ecosystem that will help with the production and deployment of electric vehicles (EVs). Jet Mover’s target market are fleet operators, logistics companies, government institutions, religious organizations, schools, corporate firms and individuals.

‘’Although we started by assembling internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, our objective from the beginning was to transition to electric vehicles and other sustainable alternatives.

The journey towards transforming the transportation sector has not been without major challenges. We have had to battle with inconsistent government policies, poor infrastructure like epileptic power, lack of direction from government on EVs, and limited funding support’’. Wemimo Joseph lamented.

These challenges cannot be the norm if Nigeria is to replicate what its counterparts are doing to support the mainstreaming of electric vehicles. With the steadily growing share of EVs in the overall vehicle market as demonstrated by EV sales, which rose to as much as 2.2 million in 2019, Nigeria cannot afford to ignore the huge potential of EVs.

Like the top EV-promoting countries of Germany, France, UK, South Korea, US, Sweden, The Netherlands, Norway and China, we must have a deliberate policy backed by far-reaching concrete actions on mainstreaming the production, deployment and use of EVs in Nigeria.