Uptake of EVs is low due to cost and lack of reliable electricity, analysts say

But initiatives in the public transport sector are seen to be having an impact

If you take a bus to the airport in Nairobi, it might be an electric-powered one – probably manufactured by a Chinese company.

Several bus companies operating in the Kenyan capital now have electric vehicles in their fleets as the country takes baby steps to decarbonise road transport.

Kenyan electric vehicle firm BasiGo is one of the companies supplying the buses, in partnership with China’s largest EV maker BYD.

It has so far delivered 19 BYD K6 electric buses to customers in Nairobi and installed the first three DC fast-charging depots along bus routes in the city, according to Jit Bhattacharya, co-founder and CEO of BasiGo.

“BasiGo has already received over 130 reservations for electric buses from bus operators in Nairobi eager to make the switch from their diesel buses,” he said.

The buses are imported into Kenya partially assembled from BYD Auto in China and completed at Associated Vehicle Assemblers in Mombasa, and they will begin full assembly of the BYD electric buses later this year.

BasiGo is not alone in the race to electrify public transport in Kenya. Swedish-Kenyan electric vehicle firm Roam is also rolling out electric buses and motorcycles in Nairobi. In July it opened an assembly plant in the city to manufacture 50,000 electric motorbikes a year.

But across Africa, the uptake for electric vehicles is still low compared with Europe and the United States due to their cost and a lack of adequate access to electricity.

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Still, Chinese EV makers such as BYD, Geely, Dongfeng Motor, Great Wall Motor, SAIC Motor, Haval and JAC Motors are expanding in Africa. They sell vehicles in markets such as South Africa, Rwanda, Egypt, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Morocco and Nigeria.