Alfred Njoka had driven diesel buses in Nairobi since 2011 until he switched to electric two years ago, becoming one of Kenya’s first e-bus drivers.

Kenya’s bus fleets want to go electric, but manufacturers can’t meet demand

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2024-12-30 21:00:03

Alfred Njoka had driven diesel buses in Nairobi since 2011 until he switched to electric two years ago, becoming one of Kenya’s first e-bus drivers. His electric bus is more comfortable, economical, and popular with passengers.

Today, Njoka is one of about 40 electric bus drivers in Kenya. The groups that run the country’s public bus transport — savings and credit cooperatives, called SACCOs — are trying to increase the number of EV buses on the roads — but the supply has not kept up. Industry experts believe the lack of capital available to the few local startups making EV buses, such as BasiGo, and high tariffs on imports of electric buses are responsible for the supply shortage.

“EV startups can’t meet and probably won’t be able to meet demand for the next couple of years,” Tom Courtright, research director at Africa E-Mobility Alliance, an organization promoting electric mobility, told Rest of World. “It certainly doesn’t help that BasiGo is one of the only companies. There needs to be more companies operating in the sector.”

Kenya levies a 25% import duty on fully built EVs. “The current pace of BasiGo’s production, combined with government restrictions on direct EV importation, slows adoption significantly,” Edwin Mukabana, managing director of Kenya Bus Services, the country’s largest bus operator, told Rest of World. The organization acquired its first 36-seater electric bus four months ago from BasiGo. The group quickly placed an order for 25 more, but so far BasiGo has only delivered two.