Switching to electric mobility is a no-brainer: tailpipe emissions cause poor health or even death and are a significant contributor to climate change. But given Africa’s limited access to electricity – let alone clean, renewable electricity – and the dearth of infrastructure for electric transport, the dream of electric cars, buses and motorcycles being the dominant people movers on the continent might seem more aspirational than practical – charged with ambition but far from fully plugged in.

Yet, an African country, Ethiopia, became the first to ban internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle imports in January. The prohibition, coupled with a reduction in vehicle import duties from 200% to 15%, has led to a growing number of electric vehicles (EVs) in the Horn of Africa country – some of which are manufactured locally.

The authorities estimate the current EV fleet at more than 100 000 – just under 10% of the 1.2-million vehicles in the country – and aim to increase this number to more than 500 000 in the next decade.

Ethiopia is but one of many African countries that have embarked on the journey towards a future where mobility is largely electric, significantly reducing the climate impact of the transport sector.

E-Bikes Leading the Way

Given that mobility on the continent revolves around two- and three-wheel motorcycle taxis – favoured for their affordability and ability to manoeuvre through the dense traffic common in many African urban areas – as well as conventional buses and minibus taxis, many commentators argue that prioritising the electrification of public transport rather than private vehicles would have the greatest emission reduction impact.

Based on a 2022 study, consulting firm McKinsey & Co predicts that electric two-wheelers – bought primarily for commercial use as taxis – will see the highest adoption among all EVs in sub-Saharan Africa by 2040. McKinsey forecasts that, by the end of this period, 50% to 70% of all commercial two-wheeler sales will be electric. In Kenya and Tanzania, two of the largest two-wheeler markets in the region, this will translate into three-million to four-million unit sales a year.

Vans and minibuses are expected to have the second-highest adoption rate, with electric models projected to make up 20% to 25% of all sales in the base-case scenario, increasing to between 35% and 45% in the accelerated case. The electrification of private passenger cars is likely to be the slowest, with only one in five being electric by 2040 in the base case and one in three in the accelerated case.

Against this backdrop, several companies have set up shop in a number of African countries, manufacturing e-bikes. One such company is Kenya-based Roam, which has made waves with its flagship product, the Roam Air, an electric motorcycle boasting an impressive 160 km range and an affordable, portable charger. “This is the highest range of [any electric motorcycle], offering transport solutions for boda-boda riders, or motorcycle taxi operators,” says Roam technical product manager Lumbi Muchui, speaking to Engineering News & Mining Weekly.

The Roam Air is no stranger to South Africa, having completed a 6 000 km journey across varied African terrains. The trip, which began in Nairobi, Kenya, in late September and ended at Stellenbosch University (SU) on October 16, was a collaboration between Roam and SU’s Faculty of Engineering, supported by partners such as the South African National Energy Development Institute and renewable-energy solutions provider Scatec. The motorcycle’s batteries were charged solely with solar energy as it trekked to its destination.

The exercise was aimed at testing the Roam Air’s drivetrain, portable dual batteries and solar charging capabilities under real-world conditions.

Nairobi now buzzes with thousands of e-bikes, some of which have been supplied by Roam, including to Uber, which launched its first e-bike fleet in Africa in the Kenyan capital last year, with a total of 3 000 units to be deployed across the e-hailing company’s African footprint, which includes Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.

Muchui credits the Kenyan government for the country’s fast-expanding e-bike population: “The Kenyan government supports EV adoption with measures such as reduced import duties on EV components. This includes incentives aimed at accelerating the adoption of motorcycles like the Roam Air, which are cheaper to maintain and operate than ICE motorcycles.

“While Roam is a pioneer in Kenya’s EV market, the industry has grown over time and there are over ten electric mobility companies in Kenya now.”

But the electric boda-boda revolution is not limited to Kenya. In Kampala, the capital of neighbouring Uganda, the number of boda-bodas has tripled to about 3 000, while Ampersand, a leading EV startup, has sold about the same number in the Rwandan capital of Kigali. Additionally, Spiro, the continent’s biggest EV manufacturer, says it has 20 000 e-bikes on the road in Africa.

E-Bus Progress

Beyond e-bikes, e-bus momentum is also building across the continent. Unsurprisingly, a study commissioned by the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI) – a global initiative focused on affordable mobility in towns and cities – and conducted by the Africa E-Mobility Alliance shows that Ethiopia has made the greatest progress, with a 229-strong e-bus fleet operating in the country in July 2024, mostly in Addis Ababa, the capital city. Three were assembled in the country, while 226 were imported – all from China.

While the country’s goal of 5 000 e-buses by 2030 is a long way off, the incentives it has introduced, including complete exemption from value-added tax and many tariffs, along with close ties with Chinese e-bus manufacturers, a growing domestic EV assembly sector and strong government regulation of ICE vehicles, put Ethiopia in a strong position to achieve this aspiration.

Egypt also has a good story to tell. The country currently operates a fleet of 200 e-buses, 140 of which were imported in the lead-up to COP27 by a consortium of transport agencies, nongovernmental organisations and government bodies. An additional four were bought after the climate event, while a further 100 are being bought by the Cairo Transit Authority. The Cairo Ring Road Bus Rapid Transit project has also placed an order for as many units.

Egypt’s success has come just five years after the launch of its 21-year strategy to promote bus and light-vehicle electrification. The strategy aims to foster a trained workforce, deploy standardised charging infrastructure in major urban areas and introduce penalties for natural-gas- and diesel-powered buses.

Senegal has also been an outstanding performer, with Dakar Mobilité, the main company involved in e-bus deployment, operating 150 units as of July. Of these, 85% were imported from China and the remainder assembled locally.

As the TUMI report notes, bus electrification in Senegal is mostly built around the bus rapid transit project in Dakar, which is exempt from a range of duties, and can serve as a pilot for future projects.

According to the report, Kenya had 24 operational e-buses in July, with 22 belonging to BasiGo and two to Roam, which has expanded its product line in the last two years to include two electric buses: a mass-transit bus designed to address the unique challenges of public transport in Nairobi and an inter-city bus. The mass-transit bus, the Roam Rapid, was launched in August 2022, with the inter-city bus, the Roam Move, following in September last year.

“The [Kenyan] government’s desire to move towards e-buses and EVs more broadly, plus the established Kenyan e-bus manufacturers and assemblers, means the country is well positioned to accelerate the electrification of the bus sector,” notes the report.

However, Roam’s Muchui laments that while “people really appreciate electric buses, market conditions for public transport operators are tough – many cannot afford to buy a new diesel bus, and an electric bus is an even greater investment”.

Other countries with double- digit e-bus fleets operational as of July this year included Rwanda, with 19, mainly in Kigali, with financing secured for a further 16, and Morocco, with 12 in operation and another 60 on their way from suppliers.

Meanwhile, Nigeria had 15 e-buses plying the public transit routes between the commercial hub of Lagos and the administrative capital of Abuja. The vehicles were primarily sourced from China, with local assembly at only 30%.

However, as Africa’s most populous nation, with more than 230-million people, more than 12-million of whom depend on public transport for their daily commute, Nigeria has the potential to attract private investors, including foreign ones, to its burgeoning e-bus sector. Currently, only three companies operate in this space: Phoenix Renewables, Electric Vehicle Motor Company and Yutong/Oando.

The TUMI report notes that the country’s appeal has been strengthened by increasing investment in EV infrastructure, including charging stations, and ongoing efforts by the international community to mobilise a further $1.7-billion to boost this infrastructure.

South Africa’s Journey So Far

Despite being the continent’s biggest and most developed economy, South Africa had a measly e-bus fleet of only six units in July 2024, according to the TUMI. These were split between Cape Town and Johannesburg and were being piloted by long-distance bus operator Golden Arrow Bus, mobility technology platform GoMetro and the University of Johannesburg.

However, Chinese company BYD has since announced it has signed an order to supply Golden Arrow Bus with 120 e-buses, in a historic step towards establishing the country’s first e-bus fleet. Delivery was scheduled to start this month, with plans for the last unit to be handed over before the end of 2025.

Attention is also being paid to the electrification of the country’s minibus taxi fleet, which is used by about one-quarter of South African workers daily. For instance, this publication reported last month that an entity called flx EV aims to have 40 units of the eKamva battery electric minibus taxi up and running in and around Cape Town before the end of 2025.

Imported from Chinese vehicle manufacturer Higer, Swedish truck maker Scania’s partner in the Asian country, the eKamva is undergoing homologation in South Africa.

Should demand reach between 3 000 and 5 000 units a year, flx EV will consider semi-knockdown assembly of the eKamva in South Africa, and the company may move towards local assembly if demand exceeds 10 000 units a year.

Promising developments are also under way in the freight sector, which some commentators argue has significant potential for a positive climate impact if electrified. Truck maker Daimler Truck Southern Africa (DTSA), for example, announced in May that it had launched a line of electric heavy-duty trucks, called eActros, as part of its Power Up electricity mobility offering.

The fully battery-powered range complements the Fuso eCanter light-duty electric truck, which DTSA launched in 2020.

DTSA will also launch the new sixth- generation FUSO eCanter range in 2025.

South Africa’s established automotive assembly and manufacturing sector positions the country well to transition to EVs, including e-buses, in line with government plans.

However, the TUMI report cautions that, for this to happen, a clearer strategy to promote domestic EV uptake must be developed. “The EV White Paper [published in 2023] is vague in many areas and lacks clearly defined and attainable policy interventions for many sectors,” it notes.

Hurdles in the Way

While there has been a promising start to the transition towards electric public mobility in Africa, challenges remain. As far as e-buses are concerned, the TUMI cites high upfront costs as the primary barrier, noting that e-buses are, in most cases, more expensive than their ICE counterparts. “While further reduction in e-bus prices is expected as production increases and more companies enter the market, this is a long-term process [as] there is the unfortunate potential to lock in more ICE bus usage in the meantime.”

With respect to boda-bodas, SU’s Thinus Booysen and Joubert van Eeden, both specialist engineers whose research has focused on EVs and road freight transport in sub-Saharan Africa, noted in an opinion piece published last month that planning for the sector’s electrification may be complicated by its unscheduled, decentralised, often chaotic and demand-driven nature.