Ford ships first hybrid Ranger made in Africa

• While Ford produces the Ranger pick-up in several locations globally including the US, Thailand and Argentina, it chose the South Africa plant to be the sole manufacturer of the Ranger PHEV globally. This is a major boost to Africa’s EV industry, as the company has hinted that the PHEV could be the first step towards fully electrifying the South Africa production line.  

• Global demand for PHEVs is experiencing a surge, with sales outpacing those of fully electric vehicles in some regions, though the overall market share remains relatively small. PHEVs are seen as a bridge to full electrification. 

• Our take: Ford continues to invest heavily in its South African manufacturing plant, and as demand for fully electric vehicles continues to rise especially in South Africa, there are high chances that the company will start to produce these vehicles at the facility… Read more (2 min)

Q&A: Here is what is ailing Nigeria’s EV sector

• Start-ups in Nigeria’s EV sector struggle to attract venture capital essential for research and development and scaling operations. This calls for a centralised EV hub to boost brand visibility and sales. Such a platform would also foster collaboration and support growth across the industry.

• EV adoption remains limited to wealthy individuals, with high costs and import duties excluding the middle class. Broader adoption will depend on reducing these barriers and making EVs more accessible.

• To read more about our conversation, click here... (2 min)

Meet the new Mobility Rising index!

• We also include a ranking of African countries based on data in five separate categories in the past three months: Projects (number and cumulative size), policy (number and impact), funding (number and size and type), events (number), employment (number of jobs advertised, number of top ten companies in the sector).

• Furthermore, we include a ranking of companies in Africa's EV sector. This 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: 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).

• Our take: All the above will be drawn together every month and displayed in a convenient dashboard. To see it in full, please click here

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