January 24, 2025

MellowVans takes three-wheelers to Europe

January 23, 2025

South African electric vehicle manufacturer MellowVans has begun exporting its three-wheeler EVs to the European Union, marking a significant step for the company. Its EV is also the first electric tricycle to be declared road-legal in Europe. This development follows a trend of African countries, such as Morocco, exporting EVs to Europe.

  • MellowVans, which is based in Stellenbosch, has partnered with Dutch mobility supplier Dockr and DHL Europe to test its vehicles in Belgium and the Netherlands, respectively. The vehicle will be used primarily for last-mile parcel deliveries.

  • The use of the vehicle in South Africa has risen in recent years. It has been adopted mainly by e-commerce firms for delivery of goods to buyers. It is being used by DHL, DPD Laser, Pick n Pay Asap!, SkyNet, Spar2U, and Takealot.

  • Our take: By entering the European market, MellowVans shows that Africa-based EV manufacturers can be competitive on the global market which is rapidly growing year-on-year… Read more (2 min)

Egypt is planning to expand the scope of its cooperation with Swedish car maker Volvo for local manufacture of EVs. Volvo in 2023 signed an agreement with Egyptian bus maker MCV to produce electric buses in Egypt for export to Europe. About 50% of each bus's components are manufactured locally as part of the deal.

  • Egypt had laid the ground for years to attract EV manufacturers before its Volvo deal. The country launched an incentives program in 2022 to encourage the localization of EV manufacturing for both local and international automakers.

  • The Egyptian government has not revealed the nature of the expansion of its deal with Volvo. But it will likely see more components for the EVs made locally.

  • Our take: Local manufacture of EVs is key for Africa’s e-mobility transition. African countries should pursue more foreign investors that are willing to inject money into EVs on the continent… Read more (2 min)

Electric bicycle companies eBee Kenya and STROOM have received a grant totaling $695,000 from P4G Capital, a capital finance company. The Kenyan start-up will receive $350,000, while South Africa-based STROOM will receive $345,000 to scale their operations. This partnership expects to create over 700 green jobs.

  • As part of this project, eBee Kenya will collaborate with Critical Mass as the execution partner and Sustainable Transport Africa as the lead administrative partner. Additionally, two high-level bike rides will be organised to provide government officials with first-hand experience of the challenges faced by cyclists.

  • On the other hand, STROOM will act as the lead business partner, while the Greater Stellenbosch Trust will serve as the lead administrative partner.

  • Electric bicycles offer more cost-effective solutions for last-mile deliveries in urban areas compared to e-motorcycles… Read more (2 min)

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Rwanda’s US ambassador (middle) with Kabisa’s executive team after the delivery of EVs

Events

🗓️ Kenya hosts a session on accelerating careers in e-mobility (Jan 31)

🗓️ Africa E-mobility Alliance hosts a carbon credit webinar (Feb 27)

🗓️ South Africa hosts Africa Transport Research Conference (Mar 5)

Jobs

👩🏻‍💻 BasiGo seeks a senior flutter mobile engineer (Kenya)

👷🏻‍♀️ Shift Ev seeks a senior production engineer (Egypt)

👨‍💼 M-KOPA seeks a mobility general manager (South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda)

Various 

📰 Electric Mobility Association of Kenya releases its first newsletter

🚍 Tanzania expresses interest in shifting to CNG busses

🔋 Changes needed to drive a circular EV battery economy

Seen on LinkedIn 

Kaushik Burman, CEO of Spiro, emphasises the importance of transparency for electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers as a cornerstone of ethical business practices.

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