Rwanda has recently become one of the few countries in Africa (after South Africa and Morocco) where electric cars from the American carmaker Tesla are on the road. This brand, which has an international reputation for its ecological performance and advantages in terms of decarbonising transport, is being imported into Rwanda by Auto24.
The local subsidiary of this Australian-based dealer is thus entering a market where electric vehicles are king. This is thanks to tax incentives (customs duties) favourable to their importation and to a green policy constantly muscled by Paul Kagame’s government, which is literally at war with atmospheric pollution.
However, the two pieces of the Tesla Model Y on display in the Auto24 showroom cost 53,000 euros (over 73 million Rwandan francs), in a country where the average salary is 241 euros. This high purchase price is justified by the fact that the Californian brand’s SUV model, which is gaining ground in Europe and Asia, boasts a range of 660 km on a single charge and “accelerates from 0 to 97 km/h in just 4.8 seconds”, says Ernest Bugingo.
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According to Auto24 Rwanda’s Sales Director, the aim is to speed up the transition to electromobility by gradually replacing combustion-powered vehicles with those that use “cutting-edge technology and are not dependent on fossil fuels (petrol, diesel, editor’s note)”. It is this approach that the parent company is trying to democratise in its sub-regional representations, particularly in Ivory Coast. In 2022, Auto24 Africa equipped the town of Treichville, three hours from the capital Yamoussoukro, with a charging point for electric vehicles.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi