Marathon Motor Engineering, a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Company and Olympic Champion Haile Gebrselassie, has started assembling the all-electric Hyundai Ioniq in Ethiopia.
Driving electric in many African countries is a whole lot cheaper than driving ICE. Ghana, like many other African countries, has a very low motorization rate compared to most parts of the developed world. This presents a huge opportunity for another leapfrog moment where consumers can jump straight into the world of EVs, bypassing the ICE Age.
Ghana’s new Automotive Development Policy has encouraged VW, Toyota, and Nissan to look into opening assembly plants in the country. The Ghana Automotive Development Policy provides the necessary framework to establish assembly and manufacturing capacity in Ghana. The initial focus will be on new passenger cars, SUVs, and light commercial vehicles which would include pickups, minibuses, and cargo vans. VW Ghana’s new vehicle assembly plant has already started production in Accra’s North Industrial Area.
Ghanaian startup SolarTaxi, an initiative started by Kumasi Hive through the partnership with the Mastercard Foundation in 2018, is scaling up its electric bike business.
Ugandan electric vehicle manufacturing firm Kiira Motors wants to take advantage of all those clean electrons to power the transition to electromobility in Uganda and beyond. Kiira has also been running a pilot for its Kayoola Electric buses. We caught up with Kiira Motors CEO Mr. Paul Isaac Musasizi to find out how the pilot has gone so far.
In a bid to increase uptake of this excess electricity, the Energy Commission launched the Drive Electric Initiative in 2019. The Drive Electric Initiative says Ghana plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 15% of the projected business as usual approach emissions by 2030 and they see the acceleration of adoption of EVs as one of the best ways to achieve this.
The company’s mobility products are built from recycled and upcycled materials. Up to 90% of the materials used are sourced locally, with only the electric motors imported from China. They assemble their battery packs using the standard 18650 cells recovered from old laptops, which allows them to lower the costs of their products significantly to levels that are more affordable for their target market.
One of the best ways to reduce emissions going forward is not to restrict the importation of used vehicles but to simply shift to cleaner and safer used vehicles. Used vehicles tend to come in at price points that are more affordable for the target market in most of these African countries.
Iyadi Iyadi had enough problems with his ICE car and maintaining it became very expensive. He then decided to ditch the ICE and get an EV. After some extensive research, he decided to buy the 35.8 kWh 2019 VW eGolf.
We just love hearing about EV conversions. This is an industry that promises to play a major role in accelerating the transition to electromobility. At the right scale and when applied to the right segments best fit for the target markets, what was once a niche product for collectors’ items such as restored classic cars and a badge of honor for a merry band of hobbyists could be a game changer. EV conversions will allow a broader consumer base to afford decent electric vehicles.
