General Manager, Stallion NMN, Amit Sharma, has said Nissan’s E-Power, has been introduced to the Qashqai and X-Trail models as a game-changer in the global quest for optimum performance of vehicles.
He stated this at the Nigeria Auto Journalists Association’s workshop in Lagos with the theme, “Autogas/electric vehicles as alternatives.”
Sharma said: “Electrification is the future, E-Power provides us with an incredible solution in a continent which has the challenges which Africa has.
“Range anxiety or the amount of power you have in your battery, just like your mobile phone or your laptop, is a major concern, which is even worse when there is not an infrastructure of charging stations that you can rely on.”
According to him, basic infrastructure like charging points in urban planning is still very limited and expensive, adding also that an enabling policy on EVs development is also lacking.
He said this is why Nissan has developed the revolutionary E-Power technology to help Africa and other areas while Nissan operates to solve their mobility issues with technology that takes into account road severity and fuel efficiency.
“The E-POWER is not a hybrid engine, but an electric engine, where the electricity is generated by a smaller internal combustion engine.
“Best of both worlds, it does away with range anxiety, but introduces all the benefits of electrification, like the incredible torque and performance that we have been witnessing, especially on the Formula E circuit.
There are many innovations that have made motoring better, faster and safer because of Nissan’s commitment – from E-POWER to E-4ORCE regenerative braking and all-wheel drive technology, the smart pedal and even battery life, he said.
Chairman of National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP), Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim, said not less than 9,000 out of 10,000 filling stations in Nigeria have been approved to operate as multi-fuel stations, where vehicle owners can refuel for autogas, petrol and diesel.
He said the move was part of the government’s efforts towards cushioning the effects of petrol subsidy removal on Nigerians.
He said: “Under NGEP, we have what we call the multi-fuel scheme whereby we do not intend to shut down the current petrol stations that we have in the country, about 10,000 of them. But rather, we have carried out an audit whereby 9,000 out of 10,000 of them qualify to retrofit to become multi-fuel.
“We have an N250billion National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP) fund domiciled in the Central Bank so that if you want to import conversion kits, if you want to import related products, you can access this fund.”
