Recently, TAILG Group reached formal cooperation with Kofa, a Ghanaian company focusing on battery swap networks, to jointly develop a battery swap electric motorcycle called Jidi. The first orders of the Jidi are expected to arrive in Ghana at the end of 2023.
Based on the advantages of Kofa batteries and battery swap networks, the Jidi will reduce rider costs by up to 30%. The partnership aims at deploying 200,000 vehicles using the Kofa battery swap network by 2030. This partnership will also require the construction of over 5,000 battery swap stations across the continent
Jidi is a battery swap electric motorcycle designed and manufactured for the diverse and growing African market, jointly developed by TAILG Group and Kofa, a company founded in Ghana that focuses on battery swap networks. TAILG Group has been deeply engaged in the electric vehicle industry for 20 years and is a leading brand of electric vehicles in China, Kofa focuses on battery swapping networks, which can effectively provide electric motorcycle battery swapping solutions. This collaboration effectively allows vehicle distributors across Africa to onboard electric vehicles with end-to-end solutions already built.
The Jidi is designed around Kofa’s extractable battery, which can achieve “unlimited battery range” by being swapped at any Kofa’s Swap & Go sites. Over the course of the year, Kofa’s swap network will accelerate deployment in Ghana, and by 2024, Kofa will invest in and build swap infrastructure in several new countries. Based on the advantages of Kofa batteries and swap networks, Jidi expects to reduce rider costs by 20–30% – allowing managers and owners of traditional fleets to consider a more cost-effective option. The Jidi was designed in this way to be a more compelling option to fleet owners across Africa.
Jidi’s dual batteries can provide a range of up to 100 km between each battery change, with zero CO2 emissions, low maintenance costs, automatic acceleration, and enhanced torque and acceleration performance, enabling Jidi to reach a maximum speed of 85 km/h. Several technical applications comply with United Nations and EU standards (UN/ECE).
Erik Nygard, CEO of Kofa Technologies said of this partnership: “This is a major milestone that will help accelerate EV adoption across Africa and play a major part in reducing urban pollution; motorcycles alone emit over 50 million tonnes of CO2 annually. TailG is the first major EV OEM entering Africa with a ready solution for scale by partnering with Kofa to provide the battery swap-and-go solution. We are really excited to help enable this”.
The introduction of Jidi in Ghana, a collaboration between TAILG and Kofa, will completely disrupt the long-term dependence on fossil fuel for travel and transportation, effectively promote the replacement of fuel motorcycles with electric motorcycles, accelerate TAILG’s mission to transform transportation in “Belt and Road” countries into the “zero carbon” era, and contribute to the global effort of countries to combat climate change and improve environmental quality.
As a global company, since 2018, TAILG has become a partner of the United Nations Electric Mobility Project and has successively piloted and promoted electric vehicle projects in Kenya, the Philippines and Vietnam. TAILG continues to pay attention to the green development needs of developing countries so that low-carbon environmental protection green travel solutions have been implemented everywhere in the world, providing feasible “Chinese solutions” for global green and low-carbon travel and has also won widespread praise from pilot countries. At present, TAILG products are exported to more than 90 countries and regions around the world.
TAILG also plans to integrate Kofa batteries into a range of new and existing models and support the spread of electric vehicles in Africa. Jidi’s start in Ghana and then launch into other African countries will help TAILG Electric Vehicle run further in global green and low-carbon travel.