Uganda got Africa’s largest EV bus factory

September 29, 2025

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Ugandan electric vehicle company Kiira Motors has opened a new factory in the industrial city of Jinja that has capacity to produce 5,000 vehicles annually, making up to 11 electric buses per day. State-owned company Kiira was handed seed capital of $40 million in 2018 and developed the new plant in partnership with the National Enterprise Corporation.

  • Uganda’s ambition to become an EV hub depends on the Kiira plant reaching production capacity. It would strengthen Africa’s EV bus supply chain and open opportunities for exports.

  • The new facility places Uganda alongside Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers, who assemble electric buses for BasiGo.

  • Our take: The biggest barrier to scaling EV production and sales is the lack of sustainable funding… Read more (2 min) 

Kenya is planning to build 10,000 charging stations by 2030 to facilitate EV adoption. This will require an investment of about $47 million, according to a policy document from the country’s energy ministry. The project, to be funded by the government, is a major step up from earlier plans. Kenya is one of Africa’s top EV markets but initially planned for only 1,000 chargers. 

  • Currently the country has a few dozen public charging stations. This is insufficient to serve the growing number of EVs. It had 5,294 vehicles in December 2024, up 41% from a year earlier. 

  • The government is laden with debt and struggles with tax collection. This has made financing public projects increasingly difficult and slow.

  • Our take: Kenya is unlikely to fully implement the project unless it can secure new loans… Read more (2 min)

Chinese EV manufacturer BYD has made a shipment of 805 electric cars to Morocco. This is one of the single largest shipments of EVs to Africa ever made and marks the first transport of goods to the continent from China’s Xiaomo International Logistics Port in the Shenzhen region. The opening of this new export channel comes amid growing African demand for Chinese electric cars.

  • The Xiaomo port is located 4 km from a BYD factory. The opening of the facility will likely accelerate importation of Chinese EVs.  

  • China is the biggest supplier of EVs to Africa. Other Chinese electric automakers on the continent include Zeekr, Dongfeng, JAC, Changan and Xpeng.  

  • Our take: China is systematically preparing for dominance of the African car market… Read more (2 min)

eBee Uganda Country Manager Sam Kulubya (centre, in black t-shirt) participated in the Kampala Cycling Day

Events

📅 Register for Smarter Mobility Africa in South Africa (Oct 1)

📅 Attend Auto Tech Expo in Egypt (Oct 24)

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

Jobs

💼 Join Kofa as a Business Development Director (Kenya)

🛠️ Lead maintenance operations at GreenWheels (Ghana)

👨🏻‍💻 Become a Support Software Engineer at Rubicon (South Africa)

Various 

🚘 Botswana unveils its first locally assembled EV

📝 Ethiopia signs green mobility MoU with two universities

🚙 OX Delivers adds new EV models in Rwanda

Seen on LinkedIn 

Adetayo Bamiduro, CEO of MAX, says, “In developed markets, access to auto loans allows drivers to become vehicle owners quickly. But in Africa, the majority of riders have no collateral, no credit history, and limited interaction with formal banks.