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EVs are set to cost more in Kenya as new taxes take effect

June 26, 2025

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The Toyota C+ Walk S, which carries one passenger, has the lowest import price of any electric car in Kenya at just $6,046, according to a list of 357 EV models released by the country’s tax authority. The import price for the Porsche Taycan GT is the highest at $382,475, while the average import price of all the electric car models is $89,888. 

  • The new Current Retail Selling Price (CRSP) list is compiled by Kenya’s tax agency to set taxes payable by car importers effective July 1. The agency has raised the import tax from 25% to 35% and increased the dollar exchange rate in use from KES 100 to KES 130, making electric cars significantly costlier. 

  • The above are baseline prices used for tax payment purposes. Actual market prices are significantly higher. For example, the baseline price for a Hyundai Ioniq 5 is $56,000 in the CRSP while the actual price at Hyundai’s official dealer in Kenya is $104,200. 

  • Our take: Higher taxes will slow down sales as car owners hold on to vehicles for longer… Read more (2 min)

Kenya was the leading electric mobility market in Africa over the past month, an analysis by Mobility Rising shows. We rank nations based on ten key parameters, namely the number and cumulative size of factories, number and impact of policies, funding deals, size and type, number of events, number of jobs advertised, and number of top ten companies in the sector. 

  • Competition in Africa’s electric mobility sector went a notch higher in the last month as EV firms, backed by growing revenues and capital raises, increased their hiring.   

  • Our rankings are based on proprietary sources, including Mobility Rising staff based in locations across the continent, as well as public sources such as LinkedIn.  

  • See our full ranking… here (2 min)

North and East Africa are leading this week’s job board, contributing over 70% of the new roles tracked by Mobility Rising. Egypt tops the list with five openings from Glide Smart Mobility and Shift EV, while Kenya and Rwanda follow with three jobs in finance and engineering. East Africa has fewer listings than usual, a shift in regional hiring patterns.

  • North Africa, previously quiet on the hiring front as tracked by Mobility Rising, has now shown increased employment activity. Meanwhile, West Africa recorded vacancies at MAX and Spiro in Nigeria, centred on accounting and data engineering.

  • Most of this week’s EV job openings were in critical support departments such as finance, data engineering and commercial operations. This highlights the growing demand for specialised roles that strengthen internal systems and enable EV companies to scale effectively across Africa.

  • Check the full vacancies here (2 min)

EV charging stakeholders meeting at Nairobi EV Charging Framework Roundtable

Events

🗓️ Register for Shift to Zero Emissions in Public Transport webinar (July 2)

🗓️ Join a carbon credits webinar hosted by Manufacturing Africa (July 2)

🗓️ Prepare for Uganda’s National E-mobility Expo (Sept 18)

Various 

📞 UNEP’s Sustainable Mobility calls for project proposals

🤝 Mitsubishi Corporation team visits MAX in Nigeria

🔊 Listen to a discussion on HEVs and NEVs, EV availability in SA

Seen on LinkedIn 

Adetayo Bamiduro, CEO of MAX, says, “Great to see like minds come together to shape the future of mobility in Africa. I’m especially encouraged by the energy and curiosity from the audience, a reminder that this movement is growing.”