report
The Ethiopian government has imposed an import ban on combustion engines. Soon only electric cars will be on the roads. How smoothly is the East African transport transition going?
Rush hour traffic in a central square in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. The cars are spread out in four lanes in each direction. Nevertheless, the streets are full. You can tell from some of the vehicles that they are no longer new. The exhaust fumes come out of the exhaust pipes unfiltered.
No more import of combustion engines
But that is about to change. For several weeks now, the East African country has had an import ban on combustion engine cars. Only electric vehicles are now allowed to be imported. Because Ethiopia does not have a car industry itself, this means the end of new combustion engines.
A rapid change in transport, but one that seems to be working. “When the first electric vehicles came into the country, demand was low,” says car dealer Amanuel Kiflu. “But now that fuel costs have risen so much worldwide and the import ban has been imposed, people are being forced to switch to electric cars.” Acceptance is slowly increasing.
The number of combustion engines on the streets of Addis Ababa is to be phased out gradually.
Electric cars from China
The dealer has been driving an electric car himself for three months. Imported from China – like almost all the cars he sells. The simplest versions are available for the equivalent of around 2,000 euros. For many, however, that is more than a year’s salary. Only very rich Ethiopians can afford German models such as those from Mercedes or Audi.
The operation is cheap, Kiflu calculates: “Compared to other countries, electricity costs very little in Ethiopia. People will be able to drive their cars around for almost nothing.” Hydroelectric power stations will provide the electricity. A large plant on the Nile will also soon be fully operational.
Independent of Fuel imports
Ethiopia’s government cites the easy supply of cheap electricity as the main reason for the change. The country should become independent of expensive imported fuels. Better air is an added bonus.
Although Ethiopia only has a tiny share of global CO2 emissions, a large part of these have come from old combustion engines. “40 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions in the country are caused by the transport sector,” says Mekuria Argaw, professor of environmental sciences at the University of Addis Ababa. “If we now slowly replace combustion engines with electric cars, this will significantly reduce emissions.”
Pioneer in Africa
With this policy, Ethiopia is a pioneer on the continent in electromobility. Even neighboring Kenya, which is far ahead in the development of renewable energies, is not keeping up. The country wants to achieve a five percent quota for electric vehicles by next year. So far, it is mainly e-motorcycles that are seen on the streets.
In Senegal, the first phase of building a network of electric buses was launched in January. South Africa has started to set up charging stations, but these are not yet being used much due to the lack of vehicles.
Lack of charging stations
The transport transition is not going smoothly in Ethiopia either. The car dealer and other e-car drivers have to charge their cars at home. There are hardly any public charging stations so far. “I would like to switch to an e-car myself, but that’s not possible because the infrastructure is lacking here,” complains environmental engineer Abate Hailu from Hawassa University in the south of the country, and demands: “We have to build them soon, otherwise it will not be an easy transition for many people.”
One vehicle per 100 inhabitants
In general, very few people in Ethiopia have a car. There is just one registered motor vehicle per 100 inhabitants, including motorcycles and buses. On the streets of the capital, many people therefore dream of owning their own vehicle – electric or not.
“It depends on our economic growth whether more people can afford a car,” says a man in the capital. “You’ll probably have to take out a loan for that.” Another adds that cars are already an absolute luxury: “I think that this trend will only get stronger. Most people will walk or take the bus.”
Many Ethiopians use the fully electric tram.
Alternative tram
The government is also financially supporting the import of electric vehicles. Unlike before, there are no longer any high import duties. If only parts are imported and then assembled in the country, nothing needs to be paid at all. This could create additional jobs.
For those for whom owning their own vehicle remains a distant dream, the capital at least has the first modern tram south of the Sahara. Fully electric, of course – and like most electric cars in the country, built by the Chinese.