What A Stunning Sight: Over 500 EVs at Africa’s Largest Ever EV Parade In Nairobi, Kenya

I keep in mind recognizing one in every of an early adopter’s EV at Sarit Centre in Westlands, Nairobi, in 2016. It was a gray Nissan Leaf. There weren’t that many EVs in Kenya on the time. Two years later in 2018, I used to be now in a position to hail an electrical automobile by way of a ride-hailing service that had simply arrange operations in Nairobi. There weren’t quite a lot of EVs on the platform on the time, so to make sure that I’d experience in an electrical automobile, I’d e-book the vehicles properly upfront of any journeys.

Quite a bit has occurred within the Kenyan EV house since that point and our readers can have seen quite a lot of this proper right here on CleanTechnica. One factor I  am actually enthusiastic about is seeing all of the progress that has been made up to now by all the businesses and stakeholders concerned in Kenya’s electrical mobility sector. One of many highlights of the latest Africa Local weather Summit was the all-electric car Parade dubbed Rall E. That’s as a result of the parade actually received to showcase simply how thrilling the electrical car sector is now in Kenya and the way way more may be carried out with the appropriate assist and enabling atmosphere.

The parade featured greater than 500 all-electric automobiles. That is most likely the biggest all-electric car parade ever held on the African continent. The parade included battery-electric vehicles resembling Nissan Leafs (first and second technology), Autopax Air EV Yetu, which is named the Wuling Air or the MG Comet in different elements of the world, Hyundai Kona, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Nissan ENV200 vans, JAC 4-Tonne electrical truck in addition to the pickup truck, BYD and HTC electrical buses courtesy of BasiGo, excessive capability electrical bus from ROAM, an excellent cool 1974 VW Kombi that has been transformed to electrical and is powered by Nissan Leaf battery packs, and a VW eGolf, in addition to a number of different battery-electric vehicles.

There have been additionally a whole lot of electrical bikes from a number of firms together with Ampersand, ROAM, Kiri EVs, Ecobodaa, ARC Trip, SPARK, MAZI Mobility, FIKA Mobility, and several other others. There have been additionally electrical three-wheelers from the likes of BILITI ELECTRIC in addition to a whole lot of electrical bicycles and scooters from eBee, eWaka, and several other different corporations. I used to be excited to participate within the parade as properly. I drove a BYD T3 electrical van courtesy of Equator Mobility. Being a part of such an enormous all-electric car parade proper right here on the African continent was a very particular second for me because it actually gave me a chance to see simply how a lot progress has been made on this a part of the world.

A variety of these automobiles resembling the electrical scooters, bikes, and bicycles are regionally designed and assembled in Kenya as properly, which is nice for the native ecosystem. A lot work has been carried out in Kenya over the previous 7 years or so by all the businesses concerned within the EV sector. Most of them are actually members of the Electrical Mobility Affiliation of Kenya, EMAK, and EMAK should be counseled for all of the work it’s doing.

Particular due to Hans, Max, and the group at Tesnetwork for months of arduous work on this, and to EMAK and all different companions and stakeholders concerned on this parade and Rall E.

Pictures courtesy of EMAK