Electric bus assembler BasiGo has started local production of electric vans with a unit retailing at Sh5.8 million, as the firm taps into a growing demand from public service transport (PSV) firms and learning institutions.
The firm started assembling 23 such units last month at the Associated Vehicle Assemblers (AVA) plant in Mombasa. BasiGo had earlier targeted to assemble at least 120 such units by the end of this year.
Moses Nderitu, the CEO of BasiGo said that the vans are more common among the public transport and offer more user options as compared to buses. The capacity of each van is 18 seats.
‘We started local assembling of the vans at our AVA plant in Mombasa. The current order that we are finalising is mainly for schools and PSVs. We are also importing another order of about 23 units,’ Mr Nderitu, told this publication on Wednesday.
‘We did a pilot with two electric vehicles last year and the results showed that this is a path that we can take. Electric vans are a viable option for us in addition to the buses.’
Vans are also widely used by learning institutions, corporates and government entities.
BasiGo pioneered electric buses in Kenya in 2022 and is caught in a two-horse race with Roam for the local market. Entry into the electric vans market offers the firm a chance to diversify its business in the local market.
Popularity of electric vehicles is on steady rise in Kenya amid a global push to reduce fossil fuel pollution from the transport sector.
Soaring prices of petrol and diesel due to the US-Israel war on Iran are driving the uptake of the units in the quest to reduce operational costs.
Buses and minibuses are the dominant vehicle models that PSVs use locally, offering BasiGo a vast market for the electric units. BasiGo has partnered with Chinese automobile manufacturer, Golden Dragon to deliver the electric vans, as it diversifies from its stronghold of buses.
Start of the local assembling following successful piloting of two electric vans last year where BasiGo deployed one on the Nairobi-Thika route where the van did an estimated 435 kilometres (km) daily and the other on the Nyeri-Nyahururu route, completing about 330km a day.
Uptake of electric vehicles in Kenya is anticipated to remain on the rise in the coming years as users embrace the clean transport push and reduce the environmental pollution from diesel and petrol engines.
Data from industry lobby, Electric Mobility Association of Kenya (EMAK) shows that there were a total of 9,144 new registrations of vehicles, motorcycles, bikes and three-wheelers in 2024. This was more than double the 4,048 registered the previous year.
Steep prices of diesel and petrol in the wake of the US-Israel war are set to further push the uptake of EVs as consumers seek to avoid a surge in fuel bills.
Cost savings on fuel are a major reason behind the growing popularity of EVs especially amongst PSVs and ride-hailing operators like Uber and Bolt.
Consumers pay Sh16 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to charge their EVs during peak hours and Sh8 per kWh in off-peak hours. BasiGo has already set up eight charging depots in Nairobi and a further eight charging sites outside the capital underscoring the efforts to scale up uptake of EVs across the country.