Major auto brands, Toyota, Ford, others lose market to Jet Motors

…as transporters switch to electric, CNG vehicles 

Jet Motor Company (JMC), a new entrant into the Nigerian automobile market, is challenging the dominance of major automobile brands in the business of selling and supplying of vehicles for  transportation in the country, Business Hallmark’s findings have revealed.

The relatively newer firm, findings showed, is now the toast of transport companies looking to wean themselves from diesel and petrol powered vehicles as a result of rising fuel prices.

Established in Nigeria eight years ago, Jet Motor Company’s revolutionary CNG and electric powered vehicle series, Jet Mover, has displaced major automobile brands like Toyota, Peugeot, Mercedes, Mazda and Ford, to become the best selling public transport vehicles in the Nigeria.

Founded in 2017, JET Motor Company has been quietly innovating in the Nigeria automotive space.

For instance, the company launched the JET Mover, a line of luxury and customizable minibuses in Nigeria in 2019.

While the firm’s EV series became instant success, the tide for its CNG versions  turned in 2023 after the present administration removed fuel subsidy and unified its multiple foreign exchange windows.

These twin-policy decisions sparked major reactions, notably a sharp rise in the price of petrol and the devaluation of the naira, which made imported products, especially vehicles, to be very expensive.

While the pump price of a litre of petrol sold at N175 in May 2023 climbed to a record high of over N1,200 in 2024, before coming down to its current average selling price of N900, naira depreciated from N471 to a dollar in June 2023 to a high of N1,900 in November 2024, before stabilizing to about N1,600 in 2025.

Mixed Fortunes

The two economic policies, however came as mixed blessings to Nigerians. While the resultant high costs of goods and services negatively affected many individuals and local businesses, high cost of vehicles and fuel prices are driving the high demand for Jet Mover vehicles by governments, businesses and individuals looking for durable, cheaper and easy to maintain vehicles.

According to BH investigations, prices of American, Japanese, European and Korean models, such as Ford, Toyota and Honda, Audi, as well as Kia and Hyundai preferred by transport companies for moving passengers and goods, have gone up astronomically, compared to their rates two years ago.

For instance, a brand new 13 or 18-seater Toyota Hiace Hummer Bus 2024 automatic drive hitherto preferred by most transport companies involved in long interstate journeys currently goes for between N125m to N140million depending on its  features.

In the same vein, a 2024 model Peugeot Boxer 2.2 carrying 9 passengers currently sells for between N86 million and N120 million (Standard to Full Option), while a Ford Transit 2023 Model goes for between N72 million and N85 million in the market, depending on the specifications.

On the contrary, a unit of Jet Mover goes from N51 million to N62.5 million depending on its futures.

Apart from offering buyers competitive prices, JMC has also been able to penetrate the market with less difficulty due to the fuel efficiency of its vehicles, hybrid system, brand aesthetics and other features.

The vehicles, which are hybrids come with chargeable high capacity lithium iron phosphate battery+petrol, or petrol+CNG engines, which users can  easily switch to.

Market Attraction

Though, JMC’s EVs initially caused a stir when it entered the market in 2019 with many buyers going for it, the introduction of its CNG/petrol powered versions has further solidified the firm’s insurgence in the Nigerian market.

BH checks revealed that each Jet Mover hybrid vehicle has two CNG tanks with a combined capacity of 220 liters of gas, as well as one 80 litres petrol tank.

With petrol currently selling at N900 on the average, it will take N72,000 to fill the 80 litres capacity petrol tank. On the other hand, a kilogram of CNG currently sells for N230. This means that a buyer will need only N18,400 to buy 80kg Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), compared to the sum of N72,000 for 80 litres of petrol.

Meanwhile, to fill up the two CNG tanks with a combined capacity of 220 liters of gas capable of traveling 300 kilometres, a driver will need N50,600.

In the same vein, JMC’s Jet Mover EVs are powered by cost-efficient renewable energy. Checks showed that it takes between N3,840 – N6,400 to fully charge the lithium iron phosphate battery of an average EV, which can travel as far as 100 kilometres.

Another plus for Jet Mover is that it can be customized for other uses apart from serving as a passenger vehicle. These include tour buses, cargo vans for shipping goods, ambulances for medical emergencies, gospel vans for religious organizations, school shuttles and buses for security agencies.

A Jet Mover comes in different versions and features. For instance; the passenger travel version of the JET Mover is 13 and 18-seater with leather seats and a personalized entertainment system for each passenger.

Powering the vehicle is a 2.7-litre petrol engine, which produces 120KW and 260 N.m of torque. Power is sent to the wheels through a 6-speed manual/automatic (optional) transmissions.

As a result of these attributes, JMC has become the main beneficiary with its budget friendly Jet Movers vehicles becoming the toast of many transporters, religious organizations and educational institutions.

Increase Market Share

According to a survey conducted by BH, seven out of every 10 brand new vehicles purchased by organizations for moving passengers on long interstate journeys in the last two years are EVs and CNG-powered as Nigerians gradually switch over to cheaper fuel.

Some of the heavy users of the JET Mover brand include the Lagos, Oyo, Edo and Delta State governments and intercity bus transportation companies like God is Good Motors (GIGM) and Delta Line.

For instance, all the buses purchased by the Oyo State government for its transportation business, Oyo State PaceSetter Transport Services (Omituntun) in the last two years are Jet Movers.

Also, leading transport and logistics company, GIGM, signed an agreement with Jet Motor Company in 2020 to buy 2000 units of the JET Mover to replace its fleet over the next 3 years.

The deal also includes GIGM getting 1-year maintenance on the vehicles and the training of her personnel in using and maintaining them.

A source in GIGM confided in our correspondent that the company had taken delivery of, at least, 70 of ordered  vehicles, which have been distributed to its terminals spread across the country.

The biggest customer of Jet Mover Company, BH findings revealed, is the Federal Government, which has taken delivery of over 100 hybrid Jet Mover buses.

The buses, it was learnt, were given out to transport unions to help relieve the negative impacts of fuel subsidy removal.

Speaking to our correspondent on the journey of the brand so far, the company’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Rupani Sanjay, said JET Mover is a combination of the best design and technology practices from Europe and Asia tropicalized for Africa.

“The shock absorbers are stronger than average, ground clearance is higher, and tyre sizes are bigger. Generally, our testing has led us to see what is best for the Nigerian and African market, and that is what we have built with JET Mover”, he said.

On why Jet Mover Company has only a few products on its staples, Rupani Sanjay said they wanted to create a global product that is built to last.

“We were obsessed with getting it right because, if our vehicles can work well on Nigerian and African roads, they can succeed anywhere in the world”, Sanjay stated.

It would be recalled that Jet Motors Nigeria was founded in 2017 by a Nigerian businessman, Chidi Ajaere, to design and build vehicles specifically for African roads, especially Nigeria.

Speaking during the unveiling of the company far back in 2017, Ajaere said his ambition is to transform the company to ‘Tesla of Africa’.