Opportunities for Africa in
Could Africa become a key player in the manufacturing of electric vehicles, boosting local industry and creating green jobs?
From the Cape to Cairo, green tech startups are leading Africa’s charge towards electric mobility, a critical intervention in the fight against climate change driven by a global tide in the use of electric vehicles ( EVs). However, the continent’s shift to electric mobility lags behind Europe, the US and China, the global frontrunners in electric mobility.
South Africa sold only 92 battery electric vehicles ( BEVs) in 2020, down from 154 in 2019, representing 0.02percent of domestic vehicle sales. Hybrid sales declined from 253 units in 2019 to 232 units in 2020.
Nonetheless, several countries are developing comprehensive policy frameworks to catalyse the transition and adoption of electric mobility.
Momentum is anticipated to escalate especially after the European Union ( EU) in mid- July proposed to phase out diesel and petrol car sales in a major market shift by 2035.
This decision will positively impact African countries like South Africa, which exports nearly 64percent of its manufactured vehicles to global markets.
Jane Akumu, a programme officer with the United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP), says that while Africa trails other parts of the world in e- mobility, the continent is awakening to the opportunities in the EV market, especially in electric two- and three- wheelers where there is potential for green jobs, local manufacturing and assembly, cleaner renewable energy, and business opportunities in charging and battery swapping.
“We see an interest in many African governments and the private sector in e- mobility today. There is increased interest in more countries to incentivise the uptake of EVs, like Kenya, Ethiopia, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and many more where the governments are looking at EV uptake,” she says.
UNEP, through its Global E- Mobility programme, has been helping African countries to come up with the right policies to switch from fossil fuel mobility to electric mobility. Some 19 countries have allocated part of their Global Environment Facility funding to electric mobility but UNEP would like to see more countries and cities make clearer pronouncements such as the dates when they will phase out internal combustion engine vehicles.
EARLY LEADERS IN THE MARKET
South Africa, Mauritius, Seychelles, Rwanda, and North African countries are the early leaders in the EV market, according to UNEP.
“We see governments reviewing their taxation structure, adopting EV policies and standards to favour EV uptake, and the private sector is also keen to have a share in this market. We have close to 50 startup companies in Kenya in the electric two- and three- wheeler space and by May 2021, there were about 18 e- mobility companies, with more being established faster than ever before,” she says.
Akumu says that in West Africa 15 Ecowas states have adopted a regionally harmonised fuel economy roadmap that includes targets for EVs. New tax measures introduced under the fuel economy initiative in Mauritius in 2019, such as reduction in excise duties by 5- 15percent depending on the type of electric car, have resulted in a significant increase in hybrid and electric vehicles to 14,060 units and 206 respectively in January 2020 compared to just 43 hybrid vehicles and two electric cars a decade earlier.