Rwanda to ban petrol motorcycles in Kigali by 2025

From the newsletter

In a bold move yesterday, Rwanda's Minister of Infrastructure, Jimmy Gasore, said in an interview with The New Times that Rwanda will not register petrol motorbikes for public transport starting in January 2025. This makes Rwanda the second country in Africa to do so, after Ethiopia introduced an all-ICE vehicle ban in January 2024.

• Rwanda has approximately 110,000 motorbikes, 70,000 are used as taxis, and 30,000 of these taxis operate in Kigali.

• Uptake of electric motorcycles remains low with only about 3,500 are currently in use. The majority of these are concentrated in Kigali, where the charging infrastructure is more developed.

More details

• Rwanda is a model for East Africa when it comes to EVs. It was the first country in the region to create an enabling environment for the EV sector while its neighbours took a “wait-and-see” approach. 

• Rwanda has led in several sectors, being the first to set policies and regulations protecting the environment. It did this with the plastic ban and now with the phasing out of petrol motorcycles.

• Ethiopia surprised many this year by banning the importation of all ICE vehicles. For a country that fully relies on imports, this was a bold move. 

• Unlike Ethiopia, Rwanda's move seems more calculated. Since 2019, it has implemented favourable policies that target strengthening the EV sector's growth and now believes a ban on petrol motorcycles is ripe.

• For context, a recently released report by the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) shows that hybrid cars imported into Rwanda have increased from 28 in 2021 to 6,660 in 2024, while purely electric ones increased from 19 in 2020 to 512 in 2024. 

• On the other hand, there are currently over 3,500 electric motorcycles in Rwanda, with key players like Ampersand, which assembles electric motorcycles; Safi Universal Link Ltd, which hosts a training center; and Rwanda Electric Motors, which performs conversions.

• To implement this ban, Rwanda plans to use a phased approach, starting with the city of Kigali. The initial focus will be on commercial motorcycles, where roughly 30,000 roam the streets, before spreading to the rest of the country.

• According to the minister, the ban won't affect existing petrol motorcycles and this approach won't result in any negative economic impact. 

• In June 2021, the government partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for a gradual phase-out of petrol-powered motorcycles by converting them to electric. 

• Studies on the impact of electric motorcycles point out that the government could potentially save $7.92 million annually due to reduced fuel imports.

Our take

• Rwanda has seen the green light to ban fossil-fuel-powered motorcycles. Its policy space has been a success, and the ban on petrol motorcycles will likely follow the same route. 

• As a market still heavily reliant on ICE vehicles, this phased approach would allow a smooth transition without negatively impacting the economy. 

• This strategy will also help Rwanda develop its supply chain and avoid putting the cart before the horse. This will prevent issues currently faced by Ethiopia, whose complete ban on ICE vehicles is facing challenges due to a lack of supporting infrastructure