Despite massive investments and commitments to scale the adoption of electric mobility in the country, lack of infrastructure has emerged as a key hindrance in the adoption.
Asset financing loan, provider, Watu Credit says that the uptake of electric motorbikes through its platform is still very low as concerns on their efficiency still a major concern by bodaboda riders who form a majority of its clients.
“What we are seeing in the country is that they just need assurances that their operations will not grind to a halt because of low power. Otherwise the uptake is still very low partly due to unavailability of swapping and charging stations,” said Watu Credit Kenya Country manager Eric Massawe.
Speaking during an asset financing deal announcement between Watu and Spiro, an electric motorcycle maker, Massawe revealed that unless investments on infrastructure is increased then uptake will lag.
A 2022 report by Powering Renewable Energy Opportunities (PREO), a catalytic grant provider to early-stage productive use-energy projects and businesses, says that the high-quality storage technology is not accessible to early-stage African startups, making it hard to phase out fuel engine motorcycles.
The report points out that in Kenya and other sub-Saharan Africa, Low-quality batteries and lack of swap stations are some of the top challenges facing the adoption of electric motorcycles.
As a nation, Kenya has already crafted a blueprint to spearhead this transition.
Late last year, EPRA issued new guidelines to support the creation of EV charging infrastructure in the initial phase and eventually create a market for the EV charging business, and create uniformity and certainty towards accelerated adoption of EVs in the Country.
“The importation of electric vehicles in the country began about ten years ago and has mainly been driven by the private sector. There has been a slow uptake due to a number of issues,” said EPRA.
“The new Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging and Battery Swapping Infrastructure Guidelines, 2023 summaries key considerations when setting, designing, installing, and operating electric vehicle charging points and stations.
Kenya's embrace of e-mobility has been accelerated by a marked decline in global EV prices.
Reports indicate that electric vehicles are becoming increasingly affordable, projected to achieve price parity with their internal combustion counterparts by 2025.
