We are seeing that it is not only China or Europe driving the electric car forward. Southeast Asian countries and Latin America are betting heavily on this technology, considering it a strategic priority, and Africa is not lagging behind.
The abundance of photovoltaic solar energy and the fall in battery costs are accelerating adoption on the continent, and in countries such as Ethiopia they already consider the electric car key to the country’s energy security.
Ethiopia has no oil, but plenty of free electricity
In an interview about the transition from combustion vehicles to electric mobility, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, stated that while the policy to promote electric cars initially faced criticism, it remains the most viable solution to shield the country’s economy from the impact of volatile global fuel prices and geopolitical disruptions.
And since Ethiopia does not produce oil, it depends on global flows, now seriously threatened by the conflict in the Middle East. Abiy explained that relying on domestically generated renewable energy offers a sustainable way to curb inflationary pressure while reinforcing Ethiopia’s energy sovereignty.
The electric vehicle market in Africa is growing rapidly, reaching 17.4 billion dollars in 2025 and is expected to reach 28 billion dollars by 2030, even though it currently accounts for less than 1% of the total fleet of vehicles in circulation.
Researchers from ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute point out that if an electric vehicle is bought for cash, excluding taxes, in certain scenarios it would already be price-competitive today in countries such as Botswana, Mauritius and South Africa. Here, current financing terms are already close to matching the costs of electric cars and fossil fuels.
The researchers are clear: “Africa does not need a revolutionary technological breakthrough to electrify passenger transport. What it needs is cheaper capital and favorable policies to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles.
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