Here is our September company ranking

September 25, 2025

From the newsletter

American EV giant Tesla has topped our latest ranking of the top electric mobility firms in Africa. It amassed 18,212 points, more than triple any other company. An analysis of LinkedIn data by Mobility Rising shows that the company has 1,562 senior staff based in 33 countries in Africa, of which 132 work in sales. This is an increase of 988 senior staff over the last 12 months. 

  • This ranking of top companies in the sector is based on the conviction that people are the single best indicator for how well a company is doing. Hence, we rank companies by people metrics.  

  • They are: Size (number of staff, number of sales staff, number of country locations with 3+ staff), growth (increase in staff, increase in number of sales staff) and maturity (experience, tenure, number of top degrees). Data is drawn from public sources and has previously been published by us. 

More details

  • Spiro emerged second with a score of 5,839, followed by BYD which got 3,030 points and South Africa’s Rubicon, which scored 2,286 points. MellowVans and Max got 2,207 and 2,191 points respectively, while Ampersand scored 2,079. Kiira Motors, Blu EV and Zero Carbon Charge closed the top ten with 1,883, 1,717 and 1,591 points respectively. 

  • Roam and Gogo Electric amassed 1,542 and 1,542 points respectively, while Kofa and Zembo hit 1,458 and 1,451 points. Shift EV scored 1,420, Solar Taxi got 1,309 points, while eBee Africa received 1,266 points. Others are Kabisa (1,247), Dodai (1,190), ARC Ride (1,175), eMo Mobility (1,040), Wahu Mobility (1.019), Saglev (934) and Utu Africa (626). 

  • Our analysis also revealed the companies that are hiring new senior staff at the fastest rate. Tesla was also top, adding 988 senior employees over the last 12 months. It was followed by Spiro (205), BYD (33), Kiira Motors (54) with Ampersand (48) closing the top five.

  • The level of experience was also a key metric in our ranking. The average experience of senior staff at MellowVans was 16.8 years, the highest of any other company. Other companies that ranked high in this metric are Blu EV (11.2 years), Zero Carbon Charge (10.7 years), Rubicon (10.4 years) and BYD (8.8 years). 

  • Rubicon is where its senior staff have stayed the longest. The average tenure at the company was 3.4 years, more than any other company. Others are eMo Mobility (3.3 years), Roam (2.9 years), Solar Taxi (2.7 years) and MellowVans (2.6 years).

  • The level of education was also a key metric in our ranking. 53% of senior staff at Tesla have a masters degree, the highest. Other companies where the highest number of senior staff had a masters degree were Zembo and Ampersand (36% each), Solar Taxi (35%), Kofa (33%) and Rubicon (30%). 

Our take

  • Our data shows that major international players like Tesla and BYD are building a strong presence on the ground, not just selling cars. Tesla's massive hiring push, with nearly 1,000 new senior staff in the last year, and BYD's plan to triple its dealerships in South Africa by 2026, suggest a long-term commitment to capturing early market share. 

  • Despite the dominance of international giants in terms of sheer human capital, our ranking highlights the strength of local and regional firms. Companies like South Africa's Rubicon and Uganda's Kiira Motors are holding their own, demonstrating the viability of homegrown solutions and expertise. 

  • Our ranking reveals that the race for talent is a key battleground in Africa’s emerging EV sector. The fact that Tesla leads in both new hires and the percentage of staff with masters degrees (53%) indicates that securing and developing a skilled workforce is seen as a critical driver for success.