Nigeria is moving to establish what officials describe as Africa’s first large-scale electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing plant following a landmark agreement with South Korea’s Asia Economic Development Committee (AEDC).
The agreement, signed on January 30, 2026, marks a major step in Nigeria’s push to localise vehicle production and accelerate the adoption of green technology. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed on behalf of Nigeria by Senator John Enoh, Minister of State for Industry, while AEDC Chairman Yoon Suk-hun represented South Korea.
According to a statement issued by the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), the partnership will cover the establishment of an EV manufacturing plant as well as the rollout of critical charging infrastructure across the country. The project aligns with Nigeria’s National Energy Transition Plan and the National Automotive Industry Development Plan.
Implementation of the factory will take place in phases, beginning with vehicle assembly before transitioning to full-scale manufacturing. Once fully operational, the facility is expected to produce up to 300,000 electric vehicles annually and create around 10,000 jobs.
While Nigeria has explored electric mobility in the past, earlier initiatives were limited in scope. Previous collaborations, including a NASENI-backed project with Israeli and Japanese partners in 2022 and a separate partnership with a Chinese firm in late 2025, remained at pilot or partial assembly stages and did not evolve into mass production.
The AEDC-backed initiative is designed to go beyond assembly, incorporating full manufacturing capabilities and supporting infrastructure such as nationwide EV charging networks. Officials say this makes it the first attempt at continent-wide, industrial-scale EV production in Africa.
Nigeria’s automotive sector has long struggled with structural challenges, including heavy reliance on imported vehicles and components, high production costs, and weak local supply chains. The country imports between 400,000 and 720,000 vehicles annually, with used cars accounting for up to 90% of the total.
In 2023 alone, Nigeria imported about 700,000 used vehicles. By 2024, passenger car imports were valued at approximately $1.05 billion, underlining Nigeria’s position as one of the world’s largest markets for second-hand vehicles.
To encourage domestic EV adoption, the federal government introduced a ₦20 billion consumer credit scheme in December 2024. The programme is designed to make locally manufactured electric cars, motorcycles and tricycles more affordable, working in partnership with domestic producers such as Innoson, Nord, PAN, Mikano, NEV and others.
Despite broad optimism, analysts have raised concerns about infrastructure readiness. Critics argue that inconsistent electricity supply could undermine the environmental and economic benefits of EVs, warning that charging vehicles with diesel or petrol-powered generators may simply shift emissions rather than reduce them.
Electric vehicle adoption across Africa remains limited but is growing. By mid-2025, the continent had an estimated 30,000 EVs in use, representing less than 1% of total vehicle sales. Ethiopia leads the continent with about 100,000 EVs, followed by Ghana, Morocco, South Africa, Kenya and Egypt.
If successfully implemented, Nigeria’s EV factory could significantly reshape Africa’s automotive landscape, positioning the country as a regional hub for electric mobility and green industrial development.
