CIG Motors, the sole distributor of GAC vehicles in Nigeria has taken charge of LagRide’s operations, a government-backed ride-hailing service in Lagos. On 14 March 2025, this pivotal transition saw CIG Motors assume responsibility for driver management, fleet supervision, platform enhancement, and vehicle financing.
The company’s initial action has been to replace LagRide’s drive-to-own model with one based on salaried employment. In this recent development, it has been announced that drivers shall be paid a monthly salary of ₦150,000 which is significantly less than the potential earnings under the previous model. Under the drive-to-own arrangement, drivers could drive GAC vehicles after paying ₦700,000, with the balance split over four years in ₦10,522 daily installments, which amounts to ₦10 million. However many drivers struggled to keep up with payments because of Nigeria’s harsh economic climate.
A frustrated driver said he was not happy about the sudden shift, saying, “This is not what we signed up for. The government promised we would own these cars. Now, they want to turn us into employees”.
Drivers’ Fears of New System
Apart from the scrapping of the drive-to-own scheme, drivers are also facing issues with an app that CIG Motors has just launched. The app has also been scrutinised when it comes to navigation as Google Maps does not support it to a great degree and the app suffers from glitches while a facility to track daily remittances is also missing.
In a press release, Comrade Stephen Iwindoye gave the speech on behalf of the Lagos Chapter of the Amalgamated Union of App-based Transporters of Nigeria where he demystified the app’s inadequacies as not for drivers still on the past drive-to-own model.
Plans for an Electric Future
On the upside, CIG Motors plans to replace LagRide’s existing fleet with electric vehicles (EVs), but no date has been set for LagRide’s transition. While the shift is consistent with wider efforts to encourage cleaner energy alternatives, major challenges such as insufficient charging infrastructure and an erratic electricity network in Nigeria could impede implementation.
Lagos State government had shown support for cleaner energy solutions before, but the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) would always rely on strong policy support and huge investments in infrastructure.
The takeover also sees the exit of Tumi Adeyemi, the founder of Zenolynk Technologies, the company that co-developed LagRide with the Lagos government. Adeyemi is now with Qoray, a mobility company focused on electric vehicles.
The partnership between CIG Motors and the Lagos State government will also include the purchase of additional vehicles to increase the fleet size of LagRide, although the specifics of this plan are still being kept secret.
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One reply on “CIG Motors Acquires LagRide, Discontinues Drive-to-Own Program”
[…] noted that switching to CNG has helped cut transport costs by 29% for riders while also reducing the startup’s carbon footprint. But despite the appeal, safety concerns […]