Ethiopia wants to follow the example of the European Union (EU), which will ban the sale of new combustion engine vehicles in 2035. The Ethiopian Ministry of Transport and Logistics recently announced that motor vehicles will soon be banned from importation in favor of electric vehicles.
This measure is part of the Green development master plan 2021-2030 approved by the Ethiopian parliament, which aims to import at least 152,800 electric vehicles over 10 years. The initiative is on the right track, since Ethiopia has already introduced tax incentives for e-mobility equipment (15% reduction in customs duties) to facilitate their entry into the country.
And this is encouraging a number of companies to get into the assembly business. Such is the case of Green Tech, which imports models from Chinese carmaker Donfeng Motors. It plans to assemble and market up to 5,000 electric cars in this East African country, which has spent nearly $4 billion on fuel supplies between 2021 and 2022, according to official figures.
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The other parameter to be taken into account to understand the ban on importing polluting vehicles is recharging. Ethiopia is endowed with impressive hydroelectric (30,000 MW) and solar (5.5 kWh/m²/day) potential. The Addis Ababa authorities are touting this as a safe recharging alternative for electric car drivers, compared with expensive gasoline (currently $2 a liter).
Benoit-Ivan Wansi