Aggressive car price cuts will up consumer interest

June 03, 2025

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The Seagull, BYD’s cheapest electric car, is now selling for $7,800 in China after the automaker slashed its price by 22% from $10,000. While the car currently sells in African countries for up to four times the price in China, the momentum is clearly downwards. BYD has also cut the price of 21 other models by up to 34%, setting off a global price war.

  • It remains to be seen how soon the price cut will significantly drive down the prices of electric cars in frontier markets such as Africa where purchasing power is low. But it’s likely to come.

  • The overall decline is expected to continue beyond this year, mainly due to lower battery costs. Battery prices dropped 20% in 2024, and the trend is expected to run further.

  • Our take: The global EV price wars being waged by BYD will help electric cars achieve price parity with fuel vehicles faster… Read more (2 min)

African mobility startups raised a total of $26.5 million in funding from investors in May, a significant haul compared to the $11.7 million the sector raised in the previous month. All the May funding was in the form of equity. This grows the total funding raised by startups in the sector this year to $83.1 million, according to data from Africa: The Big Deal. 

  • The funding was raised by five startups, with one startup alone accounting for 59% of the total, while two other startups accounted for 20.7% and 18.8%.

  • The total funding in May was raised from a pool of 11 investors, all of whom took equity in the startups.    

  • Our take: While May saw a sharp rise in funding compared to April, the funding market is still dry, and could take a while to improve due to prevailing global conditions… Read more (2 min)

Electric vehicles are becoming more common in Africa, but the biggest challenge now is charging, says Bob Wesonga, an Operations and Research Associate at the Africa E-Mobility Alliance. Mr Wesonga explains that people are no longer just worried about how far an EV can travel. He says faster charging could boost EV adoption. 

  • Since most EVs in Africa are two-wheelers, battery swapping has become more popular. It’s faster and more affordable, as riders don’t buy batteries but borrow them from companies that sell the energy instead.

  • Mr Wesonga highlights Ethiopia as a leader with the fastest chargers in Africa and plans to build more stations across the country. Kenya and Rwanda are also making good progress.

  • To read the full article… click here (2 min)

Kamryn Smith, Charge’s senior stakeholder manager, speaking at a mobility workshop last week in South Africa

Events

🗓️ Register for Morocco Energy Week Summit & Exhibition (June 24)

🗓️ Plan for EV Summit happening in South Africa (July 17)

🗓️ Attend Transformative Transport Conference (Aug 13)

 

Jobs

👷🏻‍♂️ Become a battery tech training consultant at Siemens Stiftung (Kenya)

💼 Join the Africa Climate Foundation as a Senior Programmes Officer (Hybrid)

👨🏻‍💼 Apply for Programme Officer role at the Africa Climate Foundation (Hybrid)

Various 

🏍️ Check out the operators driving e-mobility in Cameroon

🔋 Breakthrough silicon-based battery tech could boost EV range tenfold

🎓 BasiGo team graduates from the African Management Institute (AMI) leadership program

Seen on LinkedIn 

Dilip Singh, CEO of Tarini, says, “Nigeria’s commitment to electric mobility is not only ambitious but also deeply strategic, and it’s exciting to see real momentum across technology, policy, finance, and awareness.”