According to the latest world bank data on Green House gas emissions, Kenya emitted 80,188.01 Kilotons of Green House Gases. There is a current global push towards reducing the level of emissions which have primarily led to climate change and consequently other secondary catastrophes such reduced rainfall and extreme weather conditions threatening food security, human-wildlife conflict as wild animals traverse lands in search of food and water. In 2015, nations met in France and signed the Paris Climate Agreement to lower global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius with the goal of eventually reducing global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
E-mobility adoption is one of the most viable ways of reducing GHGs. As electric vehicle numbers continue to grow around the globe, Kenya has joined the ranks as well. Several companies have set up shop in Kenya. For instance, Basi Go produces electric buses for use in urban areas. Apart from selling electric vehicles, the company also leases buses to transport service providers and charging services. As a result, they have garnered admirable achievements, 1,638,008 km driven, 734 Tons of CO2 emissions avoided, and 316,652 liters of diesel avoided while having carried 2,262,188 passengers.
Basi Go has collaborated with Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers to roll out an EV assembly plant that targets to produce 1,000 units by 2027 with the capacity to create 300 jobs. The CFAO Group, a subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho Corporation has invested US$ 3 Million (Kshs 396 Million) to boost the scale-up efforts.
In March 2024, the government released a draft policy on e-mobility. The document took note of the challenges facing the e-mobility sector. Some of the challenges include the high upfront cost of manufacturing EVs compared to Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles. Maintenance costs of EVs remain high while the number of charging stations is limited around the country.
One of the countries that has successfully set up a well-functioning e-mobility infrastructure is Norway. In 2023, 82% of the new car sales were electric vehicles. There are several driving factors behind this success. First, the price of Electric cars is a third of that of Internal Combustion Engine cars due to an abundance of hydroelectric power. According to the Statista Research Department, 88.2 % of Norway's electricity production came from hydropower in 2022.
In 1990, the Norwegian government set out to have all new car sales as zero-emission cars by 2025. Since then, Norway has spent US$ 3.8 Billion yearly on incentives. Policies such as zero value-added tax, zero registration tax, free access to bus lanes, free toll, and free parking have helped spur the growth of e-mobility. Electrical charging bills are also cheaper compared to gasoline refueling bills. Kenya can adopt some of these lessons as it strives towards enhancing e-mobility capacity within the country.
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