This archive report was first published on 1 November 2019.
On November 1, 2019, Volkswagen began importing a batch of electric-powered Golf models into Rwanda for a local ride-hailing service. The move is part of the company's plan to establish a bridgehead in the country and expand to other nations as it seeks to increase market share globally.
According to Thomas Schaefer, Volkswagen's Africa boss, the company has invested over $30 billion in new electric vehicles and platforms, and the entire world is moving in that direction. The plan for Africa is to ultimately replace the whole fleet with electric vehicles.
The vehicles, which are combustion-engine cars modified to run on electricity, will be integrated into the company's app-driven 'Move' service, launched last December. Volkswagen has a global target of producing 600,000 electric cars a year by 2022.
German power equipment firm Siemens will build 15 charging stations in Kigali, which can charge up to 80 percent of a car's battery within an hour. Rwanda's prime minister, Edouard Ngirente, expressed hope that electric car use could expand, noting that fuel products were Rwanda's biggest import last year.
Thomas Schaefer acknowledged that the high price of electric cars would not appeal to most African consumers, but said scaling up production and favourable government policy could help bring prices down. The Rwandan government is working on electric vehicle policy, and if that policy favours electric cars over traditional ones, then that development can happen very fast.
