Associated Vehicle Assemblers (AVA) will assemble 130 electric vehicles in Kenya from Chinese car manufacturer Build Your Dreams (BYD). According to AVA’s executive director who made the announcement, the vehicles will be imported from China in parts. “The advantage of working with BYD is that they are one of the world’s leaders in electric mobility with modern automotive technology devices,” explains Matt Lloyd.
The partnership comes at a time when BYD is considering the acquisition of six mines that host large lithium deposits in Africa. By mining the metal, the company will be able to produce up to 27.78 million batteries for the development of its plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle ranges by 2029. This is one of the reasons why AVA is expanding its electric vehicle assembly operations in Kenya in 2023.
To do so, the platform, whose factory is located in the southern city of Mombasa, is also collaborating with Kenyan mobility start-up BasiGo. Together, the two companies will assemble 1,000 eco-friendly vehicles by 2026. The 33-seater vehicles will also create at least 300 green jobs in manufacturing, charging and vehicle maintenance, according to BasiGo CEO Jit Bhattacharya.
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At the same time, Kenya’s national treasury is preparing to exempt from taxation activities relating to the “importation, local assembly or marketing of electric vehicles” in Nairobi and the other 46 counties. This measure, which will eventually be included in the 2024 Finance Act, will initially encourage the introduction of at least 350 electric cars and bicycles at a time when the 2.2 million thermal vehicles listed by the Kenyan government are increasing air pollution.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi