China’s TankVolt starts e-bike assembly in Kenya

From the newsletter 

Transsion Holdings, a Chinese company that dominates Africa’s mobile phones markets with popular brands such as Infinix, Tecno and Itel, has entered the electric motorcycles business in Kenya via its e-mobility arm TankVolt. The company, which also owns the popular television and home appliances brand Syinix, has begun assembly of its electric motorcycles in Nairobi. 

• To capture the continent’s rapidly growing EV market, Transsion seeks to apply the same playbook that made it a dominant force in Africa’s mobile phone market: Deep localisation, robust distribution networks, and control over its supply chain. 

• Africa is becoming a playground for Chinese and Indian electric motorcycle firms aiming to dominate the market. Local startups are racing against time to secure millions of dollars in funding to compete. 

More details

• TankVolt made its debut in Africa in 2023 when it launched in Uganda. It has since expanded to Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia, targeting government contracts and partnerships with private fleets. In Nigeria, it has become one of the three top electric motorcycle companies, and won a contract to supply 5,000 motorcycles to the Niger State in the country. 

• Priced at around $1,500, TankVolt’s flagship model, the T21, sells at the same price as Roam’s flagship brand, the Roam Air. This is higher than Spiro’s Ekon 450 M1, which retails at between $1,150 and $1,470. The T21 offers both integrated and swappable batteries via Transsion’s network. 

• One key advantage that TankVolt will have over many of its competitors in Africa is that it is vertically integrated. Its parent company, Transsion, controls manufacturing, distribution, and financing. This gives TankVolt a cost advantage and enables the rapid rollout of services like battery-as-a-service and fleet management software. 

• Across its markets, TankVolt sells directly to customers while recruiting resellers, financiers, and fleet owners as partners. In Kenya, partnerships include Watu Credit, Mogo Finance, and M-Kopa. Tanzania operations run through the Chinese local reseller King Lion. 

• TankVolt is the latest in a growing list of Chinese electric motorcycle companies in Africa. Yadea, the largest electric two-wheeler maker by sales, already has a strong presence on the continent, especially in North Africa. TailG, another Chinese electric two-wheeler brand, has a presence in Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria and Ghana. Other Chinese electric motorcycle companies with a presence on the continent include Luyuan and Sunra. 

• Electric motorcycles currently form less than 5% of new motorcycle sales in Africa but are growing quickly. Their increasing popularity is because of lower operating costs, which is particularly for commercial motorcycle taxi drivers, who can save up to 30% on their daily costs thus increasing their earnings. 

• Despite this growth, key issues, especially the lack of sufficient charging and battery swapping stations are slowing down adoption. The limited range and power of electric motorcycles is also a worry for potential customers, as is the high cost of parts and components. However, the continent is increasingly investing in charging and swapping stations, which is expected to ease range anxiety.  

Our take

• TankVolt could rapidly scale and dominate key African markets by leveraging Transsion’s proven strategy in mobile phones. It has a good chance of replicating Infinix and Tecno’s rise to quickly become a top-tier EV brand in key markets. 

• The entry of major Chinese and Indian companies, adding to the growing lineup of local brands, could usher in aggressive price wars in Africa's electric motorcycles market. This could eventually drive down prices, especially as the cost of key components such as batteries continue to decline. 

• As charging and battery swapping infrastructure expands, companies offering the most reliable and widespread battery swap networks will gain a stronghold among commercial riders who value uptime over range.