Uganda and Rwanda are leading the way in electrification of vehicles in East Africa
Uganda and Rwanda are still ahead of East African countries in the global electrification drive, despite poor infrastructure that limits financing for emerging industries.
Kampala and Kigali have both set up electric vehicle assembly plants in the past two months, while Kenya and Tanzania's regional EV trials are the first steps to embrace the new technology.
Uganda's state-owned automobile company Kiira has so far built two electric vehicles and a solar-powered electric bus, demonstrating its ambition to electrify cars in the region.
The electric bus, called the Kayoola Electric Vehicle Series, uses the company's own eco-friendly technology and was developed by Kiira Motors in collaboration with a Chinese automotive equipment manufacturer.
The bus can travel 300 kilometers on a single charge and has a capacity of 90 passengers (49 sitting and 41 standing). By comparison, diesel buses carry only 65 passengers.
Last year, Uganda invested nearly 24 billion Ugandan shillings ($6.4 million) to put its first fully domestic car on the road. The funding is part of a four-year Ukanda Sh145 billion ($39 million) investment plan from 2018 to 2022.
In Rwanda, Germany's Volkswagen began assembling electric vehicles in Kigali in October, and German power equipment company Siemens plans to set up 15 electric vehicle charging stations in the Rwandan capital.
A Rwandan company called Ampersand has already started selling electric bicycles with batteries that can last up to 75 kilometers.
However, according to the Global Electric Vehicle Outlook 2019 report, the demand for electric vehicles in East Africa remains very low compared to the world's leading electric vehicle regions.