Consumer View: I converted my car to use LPG instead of an EV

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Philmatt Otieno had a problem with high fuel prices. Commuting to work in his car was expensive. When he had enough, he decided to convert his vehicle to use LPG to cut costs. He had considered converting his car to an EV, but the prices quoted were beyond his reach. For about 10% of what he would have spent on EV conversion, he got his car ready to use LPG.  

• There are an estimated 20,000 vehicles in Kenya that use LPG, and the number is growing rapidly as fuel prices climb. LPG-powered vehicles are seen as a cheap and reliable alternative to EVs. 

• While the number of EV charging stations is growing by the months, they are still roundly outnumbered by LPG refuelling points.

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For Mr Otieno, a frequent traveler, cutting traveling costs is crucial. Like millions of Kenyans, he has been heaving under the burden of high fuel prices. Kenya has the highest fuel prices in the region, forcing thousands of motorists to look for cheaper alternatives.

While the obvious answer seems to be EVs, many Kenyans cannot afford to buy EVs or convert their vehicles to be EVs. The cheaper alternative is converting them to use LPG.

“I have been talking with my friends who have converted their cars to use LPG and they told me their fuel costs significantly reduced,” says Mr Otieno.

“Currently, a litre of petrol costs between KES 185 and KES 190 ($1.4). On the other hand, a litre of LPG costs between KES 105 and KES 115 ($0.8). My friends now tell me that where they used to spend KES 3,000 ($23) on fuel daily, they now spend about KES 1,500 ($11.6) while using LPG,” he says.

Convinced, he started shopping for a dealer that could convert his car to use LPG. He found a huge variance in quoted prices, with one dealer in Nairobi quoting KES 90,000 ($697). He found a dealer that would do it for KES 35,000 ($271), and the whole process takes about two hours for full conversion to be done.

It is during this same period that he also researched on if it was possible to convert his can to be an EV. He found that it was way more expensive, mainly due to the fact that the car would have to be fitted with a new battery.

In addition to the high costs of converting to an EV, LPG-powered cars have an advantage because there are many refueling points across Kenya. LPG is widely being adopted in the East African country, backed by government incentives that include waiving taxes on LPG to make it cheaper.

This is in stark contrast to the glaring lack of charging stations in Kenya. The few charging stations are located in the capital Nairobi, making individuals who reside outside the city unable to enjoy fast public charging. This limits their range.

“I was quoted prices ranging from KES 350,000 ($2,713) to as high as KES 600,000 ($4,650) to convert to an EV. At the same time, I travel a lot and there are very few EV charging stations but LPG refueling stations can be found everywhere,” says Mr Otieno.

At the same time, there are very few EV mechanics in Kenya. This means that in case of a breakdown, an EV owner would struggle to get his car fixed in time and cheaply. This is not the case for an LPG-powered car. That was one of the reasons why Mr Otieno chose LPG.

“Not everyone can work on a lithium-ion battery or an electric car system. If you get someone who is not a professional, you will do more harm to your car,” he says.

There are an estimated 20,000 vehicles in Kenya that use LPG, and this number is growing rapidly. One of Kenya’s leading LPG companies, Proto Energy, seeks to establish a wide network of Autogas filling stations across the country to meet growing demand.

In the long term, EVs are likely to prevail as prices continue to decline and charging infrastructure grows. Another advantage of EVs is that they are increasingly software-defined. This means that their functionality and features are primarily controlled and updated through software rather than solely relying on hardware, giving motorists a better user experience. They also do not have carbon emissions.