Senegal to build its first electric bus plant

From the newsletter

Chinese bus manufacturer Yutong is set to build the first electric bus assembly plant in Senegal, following an agreement signed last week at the Hangzhou Economic Forum. Yutong will execute the project together with Chinese peer Zhenhuai Construction Group, focusing on both vehicle production and infrastructure upgrades. The plant will produce 6,000 buses in five years.

• As the first country in West Africa to introduce an electric Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, Senegal is positioning itself as a bus assembly hub in the region. Nigeria aims to buy 12,000 e-buses from the same company. 

• Yutong now joins a growing list of Chinese e-bus makers, including Joylong, BYD and Golden Dragon, that are vying for a share of Africa’s emerging electric transport market.

More details

• The plan includes building and renovating modern bus stations, rest areas, and energy refuelling points. These facilities will support the operation of electric and gas buses across Senegal. Although the project is backed by three local and international financing organisations, government-led initiatives across Africa often experience delays.

• The project is part of a national effort to renew more than 40,000 public transport vehicles used in cities and across regions. Within the first five years, the government expects to replace 6,000 of these vehicles. This ambitious programme is designed to modernise Senegal’s transport fleet and reduce emissions.

• The initiative is supported by a partnership between the Urban Transport Financing Association (AFTU), the Land Transport Development Fund (FDTT), and China Africa Investment and Development (CAID). The new facility will manufacture electric buses and also assemble gas-powered ones. This approach supports green mobility while also using Senegal’s large gas reserves of 40 trillion cubic feet.

• With a 121-bus all-electric BRT system already operating in Dakar and plans to expand with new lanes (B3 and B4), Senegal is scaling its electric mobility projects. The government has shown it can implement complex systems that reduce emissions and improve transport. Yutong stands to benefit by supplying additional fleets for future expansions.

• Morocco’s progress in building an EV battery supply chain creates an opportunity for Senegal to source batteries from a nearby market. This reduces import costs, shortens delivery times, and avoids over-reliance on distant suppliers. It also supports regional value chains and industrial cooperation in North and West Africa.

• Delays in electric bus deliveries in South Africa and East Africa highlight the continent’s limited local supply capacity. Golden Arrow Bus Services in Cape Town and BasiGo in Kenya have both experienced delays, largely due to supply chain issues and import dependence on Chinese manufacturer BYD. This gap presents an opportunity for Senegal to establish itself as a regional hub for e-bus assembly and distribution, meeting both domestic and regional demand.

Our take

• While the annual output of the new facility in Senegal is yet to be revealed, it is likely to be substantial given Yutong’s global scale and experience. With a production capacity exceeding 30,000 electric buses per year, Yutong’s direct presence in Africa through an owned assembly facility marks a turning point.

• Electric buses are an ideal fit for BRT systems, offering clean, quiet, and efficient urban transport solutions. Africa currently has just a few electric BRTs, most notably in Morocco, Egypt, and Senegal, indicating untapped potential. With Ivory Coast and Ghana actively planning BRT networks, Yutong has an early-mover advantage to support these countries with reliable, locally-assembled fleets.

• Although Africa’s EV industry is still in early stages, momentum is growing, especially in two- and three-wheeler assembly. Bus and car assembly have lagged behind due to higher infrastructure demands, but projects like Senegal’s offer a glimpse of what’s possible.