Ampersand Scales Nairobi Electrical Motorbike Manufacturing Capability To Meet Kenya’s Rising Demand For Electrical Bikes

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New Nairobi manufacturing unit triples manufacturing capability in Kenya, fueling the county’s transition to electrical bikes. Ampersand now has 1150 bikes on the roads of Nairobi.

There are over 2 million inside combustion engine bikes in Kenya. Bikes are primarily used as public transport automobiles in Kenya. These bike taxis are popularly often called boda bodas. The bike taxi business is an important section of Kenya’s economic system. Transitioning this sector to electrical will make an enormous distinction within the pockets of the house owners of the bikes in addition to the riders. Most of the startups which might be energetic in Kenya’s electrical bike ecosystem are providing revolutionary financing preparations, together with fashions the place one can purchase the bike after which lease the batteries, decreasing the upfront prices. Vary anxiousness fears are additionally eradicated by providing battery swap providers.

Electrical bikes are beginning to achieve vital traction in Kenya when it comes to adoption. 2023 was the primary time that Kenyan bike gross sales noticed a noticeable enhance when it comes to the share of total bike gross sales. In 2023, there have been 70,691 bikes bought in Kenya. 2,557 of those had been electrical. Which means 3.6% of bikes bought in 2023 in Kenya had been electrical. That’s nearly 4%! Quickly the market share will attain the essential 5%, which is mostly considered because the tipping level indicating the beginning of mass adoption. The share of electrical bikes rose to three.6% in 2023 from 2.8% in 2022 and 0.5% in 2021.

There’s extra excellent news for the Kenyan electrical bike sector. Ampersand, considered one of Africa’s main electrical automobile (EV) and power tech corporations, has simply introduced the opening of a brand new, bigger manufacturing facility in Nairobi, tripling the corporate’s manufacturing capability in Kenya. This strategic enlargement permits it to satisfy the quickly growing demand for electrical bikes within the nation, the place over 1,100 Ampersand e-motos are already in operation.

The brand new manufacturing unit spans 21,000 sq. metres, making it over thrice bigger than the earlier 6,500-square-metre web site. This vital improve, coupled with the deployment of over 100 employees, will enable Ampersand to assemble as much as 60 electrical bikes per day, or 1,440 per thirty days, in addition to proceed delivering essentially the most trusted battery swap community for Kenya’s thousands and thousands of business bike riders.

Ampersand’s sustainable EV options lower carbon emissions and provide vital financial savings to riders. Each Ampersand e-moto avoids at the very least 2 mt CO2e per bike per yr, and, on common, will increase buyer revenue by 45% yearly, a significant profit for Kenyan riders, who every assist a mean of three.8 individuals at residence.

The improved Kenyan operation, mixed with Ampersand’s profitable mannequin in Rwanda the place it has spearheaded the adoption of electrical bikes, lays a powerful basis for its continued enlargement throughout East Africa. Presently, Ampersand’s fleet of professional quality industrial e-motos and sensible, AI-optimised batteries covers over 4.5 million kilometres per week in Kigali and Nairobi mixed. This newest scaling positions the corporate to satisfy rising demand for electrical bikes, not simply in Kenya however throughout East Africa, the place 100 million individuals rely on largely petrol bikes for taxi or supply providers. Ampersand goals to deploy 5 million electrical bikes by 2033.

“Our new Nairobi manufacturing unit is a serious step ahead in each scale and impression,” mentioned Josh Whale, CEO of Ampersand. “It displays our dedication to offering sustainable, reasonably priced EV options that instantly profit riders and the setting. With this expanded capability, we’re in a stronger place to assist the electrification of Africa’s industrial bike transport and to scale Ampersand’s confirmed enterprise mannequin.”

Ampersand now has greater than 4,000 zero emission e-motos in East Africa, which the corporate says price much less to run, delivering life-changing financial savings for its prospects, cleansing up air high quality, and enhancing individuals’s well being. The corporate is additional scaling its climate-led innovation and customer-centric providers to extra companies and markets.

The transition to electrical mobility in Africa, particularly in sectors such because the 2-wheeler and 3-wheeler area, will occur loads sooner than lots of people realise. Thrilling instances forward.