BasiGo to deliver 1,000 electric buses in three years

E-mobility company BasiGo is set to deliver 1,000 electric buses in the next three years.

The initiative has been facilitated by a $10 million loan from US International, Development Finance Corporation.

DFC, which helped establish a line dedicated for electric buses, is partnering with Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers.

They aim to produce five electric vehicles every month and raise the number to 20 in a few months.

“Our overall goal is to deliver 1,000 electric buses in Kenya in three years and in doing that, we will have created about 300 green manufacturing jobs,” said Jit Bhattacharya, CEO and co-founder of BasiGo.

Already, Nairobi matatu operators have made 500 reservations. 

Another 300 reservations have been received from bus operators in Kigali, Rwanda.

“In the long-term, as we locally assemble and manufacture these technologies at KVM, Kenya can become the new supply chain hub for the rest of the world,” he added.

Bhattacharya lauded the US for offering support and enabling BasiGo to grow its production capacity.

The company makes electric buses affordable to operators through an innovative financing model called “Pay-As-You-Drive”.

He said Africa heavily relies on Chinese EV technology, which currently leads on cost and performance, for the growth of the electric vehicle sector.

In February, BasiGo completed the assembly of two E9 Kubwa buses.

The 9-metre electric buses are specifically designed for the Kenyan Public Service Vehicle market.

Citi Hoppa and Super Metro were the first operators to receive the locally assembled electric buses.

Other operators include Oma Sacco, MetroTrans, KBS, Embassava, East Shuttle and Latema Sacco.

BasiGo became the first company to introduce electric buses into passenger operations in Kenya in 2022.

BasiGo Kenya managing director, Moses Nderitu, said the move to clean, electric buses is an opportunity for the country to establish itself as a manufacturing hub for modern electric vehicles.

“This transition represents more than just an impact on the environment. We are talking about a brand new manufacturing sector in terms of the production of electric vehicles. Green growth goes hand in hand with job creation,” he said.

They said this during a tour of the KVM high-volume E-Bus assembly line in Thika, by US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman.

Whitman reiterated her country’s commitment to supporting efforts to create green jobs in Kenya.

Electric vehicles are the future of the African continent and the world and the sector has the potential to propel growth.

“I’m very excited about electric vehicles. Green industrialisation has got to be a big part of Kenya’s growth,” she said.

Whitman’s visit to KVM signified the growing alliance between the two countries, with the US eager to see growth in Kenya's domestic manufacturing sectors.

KVM was the first assembly plant in Kenya with AVA Mombasa and Isuzu following later.

Whitman said Kenya stands to be a model in Africa in green manufacturing and if these partnerships work, then they can be replicated in other countries.

In February 2024, the Kenyan government and Toyota Tsusho Corporation of Japan signed an agreement for collaboration in vehicle manufacturing.

Toyota committed Sh800 million to rejuvenate KVM, whose largest shareholder is the government with a 35 per cent stake, while CMC and DT Dobie own 32.5 per cent respectively.

The tour also highlighted a significant development in US-Kenya relations and came three months after President William Ruto's historic state visit to the United States.

US President Joe Biden termed Ruto's visit as “a new era of technological cooperation” between the two countries.

During the trip, DFC announced a new financing package for Kenya that includes investments to advance e-mobility, to the tune of $250 million (Sh32.5 billion) .