Spiro races to build 900 new swap stations by year end

September 23, 2025

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Electric motorcycle company Spiro has announced a plan to increase the number of its battery swapping stations in Nigeria tenfold in three months. Nigeria is one of the eight markets in which Spiro operates in Africa. The company, which has been expanding aggressively across the continent, currently has 100 swapping stations in the West African country. 

  • Spiro, which first began operations in Benin and Togo in 2022, has sold more than 35,000 electric motorcycles and built more than 1,100 battery swapping stations, making it Africa’s largest electric two-wheeler company.  

  • A lack of swapping stations has been a roadblock for electric motorcycle adoption. Companies are racing to scale their station network, but inability to raise sufficient capital has remained an issue. 

  • Our take: Brand-agnostic swap stations serving EVs from various manufacturers can increase sales… Read more (2 min)

The global hyper-charger market is projected to grow from $7.65 billion in 2024 to $17.58 billion by 2032, according to a new research report by DataM Intelligence. Africa however still lags behind, with the majority of the continent’s EVs using slow AC chargers. Faster DC chargers being used on the continent still typically deliver less than 350 kW. 

  • BYD’s megawatt flash charging technology, launched this year, is the fastest in the world, with charging speeds that can take a vehicle's battery from 10% to 80% in just 5 minutes. This technology enables chargers of up to 1.2 MW. 

  • Africa is lagging, with the majority of its fastest chargers providing a fraction of BYD’s most powerful. Currently, the fastest chargers in Africa have a capacity range of 150 kW to 480 kW. 

  • Our take: A reliable grid would enable more Africans to charge EVs at home using domestic tariffs and cut reliance on expensive public chargers… Read more (2 min)

While East Africa is eager to see its passenger EV market thrive, many stakeholders are falling short, notes Matt Lloyd, Managing Director of Associated Vehicle Assemblers. Financiers brand themselves as ‘green’ but rarely fund genuine green initiatives, importers wait for tax breaks instead of investing, and policymakers continue to lack both transparency and clarity.

  • Mr Lloyd has been AVA’s Managing Director for nearly five years, following his role as Chief Officer of Shared Services at Simba Corporation. He now drives AVA’s EV assembly efforts and advocates for localised production. 

  • East Africa has turned into a dumping ground for old, fully built electric vehicles, which should not be the case, says Mr Lloyd. This trend is hindering the development of EV skills, job creation and innovation.

  • Read the full opinion here… (2 min)

Daniel Bongardt (Left), Head of Transport and Mobility at GIZ, and Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Industrialisation, Dr. Juma Mukhwana,  during the ongoing Transport and Climate Change Week in Germany

Events

📅 Register for the 3rd Climate Mobility Summit (Sept 24)

📅 Attend Enabling Early Stage Infrastructure Investing webinar (Sep 25)

📅 Familiarise with EV technology at Africa E-Mobility Expo in Kenya (Dec 4)

Jobs

👨‍✈️ Join MAX as a Fleet Officer - Set Up/Activation/Documentation (Nigeria)

💼 Manage Business Development at Zembo (Uganda)

🔋 Become Ampersand’s battery swap franchisee (Rwanda)

Various 

🔗 Missing links to the future of mobility in Africa

🤝 BluEV partners with 3ANUTA to boost consumer financing 

📋 Read M-Kopa’s impact report

Seen on LinkedIn 

Yuma Sasaki, CEO of Dodai, says, “The question now is whether Ethiopia and other African countries can take the measures required, such as promoting battery swapping and continuing to implement EV-friendly regulation, to scale this vital industry.”