China Plans to Open an Electric Vehicle (EV) Plant in Nigeria

On 19 May 2025, Chinese Ambassador YU Dunhai paid a courtesy visit to Nigerian Minister of Solid Minerals Development Dr Dele Alake, and expressed an interest to set up an Electric Vehicle (#EV) manufacturing facility in Nigeria. Ambassador Yu pointed to Nigeria’s rich hydrocarbon and solid mineral resources as well as its huge market with the largest population among African countries.

Minister Alake enthusiastically welcomed such impact investments that undertakes #LocalBeneficiation because this proposed #FDI falls right in line with Nigeria’s diversification strategy and #industrialization drive. To name a few, Chinese companies Canmax Technologies (SZSE: 300390) and Avatar New Energy Materials are already involved in the extraction or processing of #lithium and other #CriticalMinerals in Nigeria.

So far in 2025, Chinese companies have sealed a series of deals in Nigeria. In April, Sinomach (SHSE: 600335) signed an agreement with the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) of Nigeria to build a USD one billion sugar cane production and processing facility.

During March 2025, a large delegation of 261 Chinese businesses visited Nigeria to explore investment opportunities; 74 of them expressed interest in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. In February 2025, a new Shanghai-Lagos maritime service was launched cutting the transit time to just 27 days, in a bid to boost bilateral trade between Nigeria and China.

In January 2025, the China Development Bank (CDB; HKSE: 1606) approved a USD 255 million loan for the Kano-Kaduna railway segment. Under the #BRI, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC; SHSE: 601668) has already completed the Lagos-Ibadan double-track standard gauge railway (#SGR), which is expected to eventually extend all the way northwards to Kano.