Charging infrastructure: Africa’s top concern

From the newsletter

The recent 6,000km journeys of electric motorcycles from Kenya to Johannesburg and five electric cars from Johannesburg to Cape Town highlight that the availability of charging infrastructure, rather than range, is the primary challenge for EV adoption in Africa.

• In Kenya, charging stations are rare, even in the capital city. Battery swapping for motorcycles is gaining traction.

• In South Africa, the charging infrastructure is more developed, but the number of fast chargers and the capacity to handle multiple vehicles simultaneously is limited.

• The situation is even worse in countries like Nigeria, which don't have enough electricity to support current grid demand, let alone EV charging.

More details

• Africans often travel long distances between urban and rural areas for work, family, or social reasons, though mostly on public transport. Limited charging infrastructure and slow charging speeds make EVs impractical for such trips.

• Even for urban dwellers, most commutes are less than 100km per day, a distance easily covered by the range of most available EVs.  Conveniently located charging stations, particularly at workplaces, would further smoothen EV ownership by enabling easy top-up charges. But they aren't available.

Our take

• EV range is an important aspect of adoption, but the availability of charging infrastructure, particularly fast DC chargers, will be the main influencer for EV adoption in Africa.