EVs usher African mass transit into a new age

June 04, 2025

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Egypt has launched its inaugural Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system with a fleet of 100 electric buses. The BRT line will span 35 km and has the capacity to carry up to 3,200 passengers per hour. The vehicles were locally assembled by Kastour Group (the distributor of MAN vehicles), Geyushi Motors, and the Middle East’s bus manufacturer MCV. 

  • African BRT systems are growing as cities increasingly adopt electric mass transit solutions. The aim is to encourage millions of individuals with passenger cars to opt for the fast high-capacity BRT buses. 

  • Yet, Africa’s capacity for electric bus production remains limited. The continent is expected to continue to need electric bus imports to scale up effectively.

  • Our take: Other top African cities such as Nairobi, Cape Town, Addis Ababa and Kigali may be the next in line to adopt electric BRT systems… Read more (2 min)

Africa’s leading electric motorcycle and charging companies are installing solar PV systems on their grid-tied swapping stations to lower power bills. This enables them to use solar power during the day to charge EV batteries and switch to the grid when the stored power is exhausted — all while the continent is facing rising power prices, increasing charging costs. 

  • Solar has the potential to power not only off-grid charging stations but also reduce costs at grid-tied stations. Once installed, charging companies significantly cut their power costs, which will ultimately benefit consumers.

  • The main challenge is the cost of solar systems. While panel prices are falling, the cost of batteries remains hefty. This means it could take charging firms years to get economic returns from investment in solar.  

  • Our take: Higher charging prices erode the economic advantage that EVs have over fuel vehicles, which could slow down EV sales… Read more (2 min)

Egyptians Omar El Defrawy, an economist, and Amr Mazen, an electronic engineer, were the leading fundraisers in May. The duo are the co-founders of Sylndr, an Egyptian used car startup founded in 2021. They raised $15.7 million from a pool of seven investors, more than half the month’s funding for Africa which totalled $26.5 million.

  • Mr El Defrawy, who serves as Sylndr’s CEO, started his career at the Central Bank of Egypt before joining financial services firm EFG Hermes. Before co-founding the startup, he was the CEO of food delivery firm elmenus. Mr Mazen was previously the commercial director at used car firm Cazoo.  

  • The duo has raised more than $30 million since for Sylndr. Their May funding is the largest equity haul by a mobility startup since Kenya-based electric bus company BasiGo got $24 million in October 2024.  

  • Our take: Sylndr is now on the hook to show fast scaling, bringing a strong likelihood of increased cross-border expansion… Read more (2 min)

Edward Makwana, automotive writer, charging a Land Rover Defender 110 PHEV in South Africa

Events

🗓️ Book a slot at the Ghana Automotive Summit (June 17)

🗓️ Join a Q&A session hosted by Africa E-Mobility Alliance (June 18)

🗓️ Attend the Mobility Live event in South Africa (June 24)

Jobs

👨‍💻 Become a Senior Full Stack Developer at BasiGo (Kenya)

👷🏻‍♀️ Join Spiro as a Power Electronics Engineer (Nigeria)

👨🏻‍💼 Apply for the Vice President of Product Development role at Kofa (Kenya)

Various 

🔌 Rubicon unveils 50kW Delta DC charger in South Africa

⚡️ Morocco to produce 107,000 electric cars by the end of 2025

🚘 Changan is preparing to launch two new cars for the first time in Egypt

Seen on LinkedIn 

Bilal Hanif, a senior technical business analyst, says, “South Africa is enormous and lacks the infrastructure to support EV’s. We’re also dealing with a high crime rate, meaning EV points cannot be on the street. Further, the electricity grid can’t handle the load.”