Rwanda has moved quite far along the electric vehicle route

The transition to electric power or alternative energy vehicles in Africa is feasible providing it is a planned and structured change that places affordability as one of its primary objectives. The process of change is happening rapidly on a global scale, accelerated recently by the promises and decisions taken at the recent global climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland and Africa needs to find its way into this fold. In a panel discussion at the Intra-Africa Trade Fair taking place at the Durban ICC, representatives from Rwanda, Ghana and Nigeria agreed with Volkswagen South Africa CEO Robert Cisek who said: “We need to make the transition from internal combustion engines.” Rwanda has moved quite far along the electric vehicle route – as a country where motorcycles and scooters are the mode of transport for the masses, the switch to electric scooters is being made rapidly and it is expected all bikes will be electric as soon as 2024. In Nigeria, the government has committed to providing a charging station infrastructure that is helping swell the number of fully electric vehicles on the roads, while Ghana is taking climate change seriously and putting a number of things into place that will help ease the change. South Africa is well down the road with a number of electric vehicles on offer and more to be launched in the near future – with the recently launched Toyota Corolla Cross the first hybrid vehicle to be manufactured locally.