{"id":158049,"date":"2026-02-17T19:35:05","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T19:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/nigeria-and-kenya-lead-electric-van-production-with-kits"},"modified":"2026-02-17T21:26:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T21:26:11","slug":"nigeria-and-kenya-lead-electric-van-production-with-kits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/nigeria-and-kenya-lead-electric-van-production-with-kits","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria and Kenya Lead Electric Van Production with Kits"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"ap-article-header-tag\"> <strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Kenya. <\/strong> <\/span><b>E-mobility companies based in Africa are beginning to assemble electric vans and taxis locally, using Chinese-made kits and innovative financing to increase the use of electric public transport across the continent.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>One Lagos-based Nigerian company has begun assembling 18-seater passenger electric vans using kits supplied by Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor Corp.<\/p>\n<p>Saglev says it plans to produce up to 2,500 vehicles a year, eventually assembling 17 electric models for Nigeria and other West African markets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a major step in Nigeria&#8217;s transition toward clean, fossil-free transportation,\u201d said its CEO Olu Falaye.<\/p>\n<p>He said the van is the first locally assembled electric vehicle of its kind for mass transit in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis feat is a clear signal that electric mobility in Nigeria is practical, scalable, and ready for adoption,\u201d Falaye said.<\/p>\n<p>Saglev is a joint venture between Nigeria\u2019s Stallion Group, a major auto distributor, and Chinese automaker Sokon Motor.<\/p>\n<p>It also plans to install solar-powered charging stations to provide more reliable sources of power, a key challenge the adoption of EV in some parts of Africa.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s a similar push in Kenya, where Chinese backed Rideence Africa recently signed a $2.46 million deal with Mombasa-based Associated Vehicle Assemblers (AVA).<\/p>\n<p>It will see the local assembly of electric taxis and minibuses from kits supplied by China&#8217;s Jiangsu Joylong Automobile and Beijing Henrey Automobile Technology.<\/p>\n<p>AVA Managing Director Matt Lloyd said the partnership delivers Kenya\u2019s first dedicated electric vehicle assembly line, demonstrating it has the \u201ccapacity and capability to assemble EVs locally at scale\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Kenya and Nigeria, two of Africa\u2019s largest economies, are leading the push for local EV assembly as countries seek to cut fuel costs, reduce emissions, and build domestic manufacturing capacity.<\/p>\n<p>Electric vans and minibuses are central to public transport across Africa, where Japanese models such as the Toyota Hiace and Nissan vans dominate the roads, carrying passengers and goods.<\/p>\n<p>EV charging costs average about $3 for up to 200 kilometres compared with more than $15 in petrol costs for similar distances.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe assembly of electric vans is emerging as a strong market segment,\u201d said Dennis Wakaba, the secretary-general of the Electric Mobility Association of Kenya.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEarlier, the cost of electric vans was high, putting off operators. But as local assembly scales up, these costs have dropped, attracting more orders.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kenya has one of Africa&#8217;s most active electric mobility markets, with startups assembling buses and vans and deploying them for public transport and ride-hailing.<\/p>\n<p>Ethiopia and South Africa also have entered the market. In Ethiopia, Belayneh Kinde Group assembles about 150 minibuses a month using Chinese components.<\/p>\n<p>To make EVs more affordable, companies like Rideence are adopting pay-as-you-drive and lease-to-own options that let operators avoid expensive initial payments. It leases its taxis to drivers for about $18 per day.<\/p>\n<p>BasiGo-Kenya Vehicle Manufacturer, which also is expanding into electric vans assembly, requires operators of its EVs to pay a deposit and then about 20 US cents per kilometre driven.<\/p>\n<p>That approach fits with financial realities for transport operators in Africa, where access to credit is limited and few can afford to purchase new vehicles outright.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese innovative financing models mitigate risks for both assembler and operators, helping put vehicles on the road faster. With these, we expect to see more e-vans taking a larger share of the African transport systems,\u201d Wakaba said.<\/p>\n<p>Still, there are only about 30,000 EVs in Africa, compared with millions of gas and diesel-fuelled vehicles, latest figures from the Africa Mobility Alliance shows.<\/p>\n<p>The continent manufactured only 1.1 million vehicles in all last year, 90 per cent of them in Morocco and South Africa.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-article-footer-note\">Find more news and analyses on <span class=\"ap-highlight-country\">Kenya<\/span> on the <span class=\"ap-highlight-brand\">Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Kenya. E-mobility companies based in Africa are beginning to assemble electric vans and taxis locally, using Chinese-made kits and innovative financing to increase the use of electric public transport across the continent. One Lagos-based Nigerian company has begun assembling 18-seater passenger electric vans using kits supplied by Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor Corp. Saglev [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":158048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[171,8294,544,2380,8885,10923],"class_list":["post-158049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-china","tag-electric-cars","tag-kenya","tag-nigeria","tag-production","tag-taxi"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Nigeria and Kenya Lead Electric Van Production with Kits - kenya<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag&quot;&gt; Africa-Press - Kenya. 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