Roam launches second-generation electric bike, seeks to produce 80 units daily

Kenyan electric vehicle (EV) maker Roam launched its second-generation Roam Air motorcycle on Tuesday and announced plans to ramp up production at its assembly plant in Nairobi.

The company develops motorbikes and buses and its main product has been the Roam Air bike.

Roam says the new generation motorcycle is lighter than its predecessor to improve battery efficiency and overall handling, while its frame supports 240 kilograms of load weight.

Currently, the company says it makes 20 bikes daily.

“We are building up the supply chain to get to a point where we can produce 80 bikes a day and 50,000 units a year,” Roam’s Regional Sales Operation Manager Habib Lukaya told Citizen Digital.

Lukaya said they plan to expand their local supply chain to ensure at least 70 percent of its components are locally sourced.

The company says it sources 36 percent of all parts, including body panels and mechanical auxiliaries, from local manufacturers.

Roam is one of the country’s pioneer EV companies, having entered the local e-mobility sector in 2017. In 2021, it shifted from EV conversions to assembly.

The Roam Air motorcycle targets Kenya’s 3 million boda boda riders whom other players such as Spiro and eWaka have also taken on with electric motorcycle varieties.

Roam also assembles two buses, although the production has been minimal. The biggest player in Kenya’s electric bus market has been BasiGo, which has so far produced just over 50 units for bus operators in Nairobi.

At the start of last year, Roam secured $24 million (Ksh.3.4 billion at the time) in a Series A debt-equity round led by Equator Africa and includes investments from At One Ventures, TES Ventures, Renew Capital, The World We Want, and One Small Planet, among other private and institutional investors.

Additionally, the U.S. government through the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) committed to provide Roam with an up to $10 million (Ksh.1.45 billion) debt facility.