How practical is switching to an electric vehicle in Kenya?

A typical day in Nairobi; vehicles negotiating their way through a traffic snarl-up. In the nation’s capital, 54 per cent of trips are made using either public transport or private cars.

It’s a big reason why the transport sector contributes 20 per cent of CO2 emissions in Kenya.

You can blame it on the nearly five million Combustion Engine Vehicles moving around the country.

It’s not surprising why this tiny car would stand out in a sea of fuel-guzzling cars.

With Kenya now having the 12th costliest fuel in Africa, and no sign of a drop in prices at the pump, could this be the solution?

It’s been touted as Kenya’s first Electric Vehicle (EV) by a local company called the Autopax Air Yetu.

The car comes in two trim levels; the standard range which covers 200 kilometres on a full charge, and the long-range Autopax Air Yetu Pro which covers 300 kilometres when fully charged.

And it comes with a price tag of between Ksh.1.7 million and Ksh.2 million.

Twenty-year-old CEO Joy Kalua drives operations at Autopax and says the company has already received over 200 pre-orders since the summit.

Citizen TV asked Kalua, beyond the environmental benefits the reason most Kenyans would even consider the car is saving on fuel with the costs so high. What would you tell a Kenyan considering this vehicle?

“On a full charge, the 200-kilometre model will cost you roughly 300 shillings and for the 300-kilometre model it will cost you 500 shillings.”

But is Kenya ready for electric vehicles?

First, let’s begin with infrastructure. We decided to use Electromaps, a company that identifies charging stations worldwide using Google Maps.

We counted at least 10 just in Nairobi and one in Mombasa at City Mall in Nyali.

Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen previously said, “Often the frustration of spending long hours in charging queues can be a deterrent, assuming one was unable to charge at home.”

On average, according to the E-mobility Conference Report 2023, the charging time for 2 and 3-wheelers like a motorcycle or a tuk-tuk averages 4 hours for a travel distance of 100km, while 4+ wheelers require an average charging time of 5 hours for a travel distance of 300km.

Another significant factor impeding the widespread adoption of electric vehicles is the high cost of electricity.

However, back in May this year the energy regulatory authority approved Kenya Power’s request for a separate tariff for electric vehicles which will see their owners purchase power at discounted prices.

“Looking at the off-peak hours we have a lot of wasted energy but this can be utilized between 10 pm to 4 am by EV users to charge their cars while parked at home,” says Dr Jeremiah Kiplagat, Director at the Institute of Energy.

According to Kenya Power, Electric Vehicle users will be paying Ksh.17 for a unit of electricity compared to Ksh.27 for a unit of power for domestic users. 

And during off-peak hours, the cost will be slashed further to Ksh.9 per unit.

It’s a step in the right direction, however, industry players say the government needs to do more to encourage the switch to electric mobility by waving taxes on the vehicles as they are expensive to acquire in the first place.