At least 10 electric vehicle manufacturers, mostly from India and China, are seeking to enter Kenya after their common battery-swap provider launched its network in the country, potentially intensifying competition in the fast-growing e-mobility market.
The firms include China’s Afrina Neopower, QJ-YY, Sprocomm, VMoto and Wylex; India’s BGauss, Motovolt and Odysse; Italy’s Piaggio; and Kenya’s Fika Mobility, which had been unable to launch its electric motorcycles because of the lack of a battery-swap provider.
The firms focus on production of electric motorcycles and three-wheelers (tuk-tuks).
The manufacturers rely on open-architecture battery infrastructure and specialise in electric two- and three-wheelers. By using a common battery-swap network, they can enter the market without having to develop their own batteries and swapping infrastructure.
Their planned entry follows the rollout of services by Sun Mobility, an Indian company that provides batteries and swap networks to about 30 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), mostly in India and China.
Ajay Goel, Sun Mobility’s co-founder and chief executive for international business, told the Business Daily that while the company has more OEM partners, 10 have so far confirmed plans to enter Kenya.
“The partners tell us they were not even looking at the Kenya market, but now that we’re here, we want to come into Kenya because we have products that can compete,” said Mr Goel.
“The timelines are dependent on the OEMs but from next month, you will see more and more deployments.”
Sun Mobility entered Kenya late last year and has been building its swap infrastructure, which it launched last month after establishing 35 swap stations in Nairobi and Mombasa, some in partnership with Vivo Energy, which operates Shell and Engen fuel stations.
Unlike many EV firms in Kenya, Sun Mobility focuses on providing batteries and swapping networks for electric motorcycles and tuk-tuks rather than manufacturing the vehicles themselves. This can lower the upfront cost of adoption because buyers do not have to purchase a battery together with the vehicle.
Many electric two- and three-wheeler manufacturers operating in Kenya currently require customers to buy the battery as part of the vehicle, increasing the initial cost of ownership.
The entry of the 10 manufacturers could therefore intensify competition in a market currently dominated by locally based firms, which have benefited from a range of government tax incentives aimed at accelerating the shift to electric mobility.
Kenya is one of Africa’s leading electric vehicle markets, with about 39,324 EVs already on its roads, most of them two-wheelers. This growing market was one of the reasons Sun Mobility chose Kenya as the launch pad for its African operations.
“Kenya is a very stable market, there’s a growing demand for electric mobility, stable currency and is a great first market to pilot,” said Mr Goel.
The company faces competition from E-Safiri, another battery-swap network provider that supports multiple manufacturers. Based in Kisumu, E-Safiri currently works with five OEMs.
Sun Mobility’s model could give foreign manufacturers a relatively low-cost route into Kenya’s e-mobility market by removing one of the biggest infrastructure requirements for electric two- and three-wheelers: access to a reliable battery-swapping network.
