Why sell one of Africa’s largest EV chargers?

October 16, 2025

Dear subscriber, while mergers & acquisitions may be scarce in the EV sector, this could be changing. We report on the second deal in a few months. Plus we review consumer prices and job openings today. Enjoy the read! Regards, Brian Ambani 

Why sell one of Africa’s largest EV chargers?

GridCars, the biggest EV charging company in South Africa and one of the biggest in Africa, is being sold, according to MyBroadband. The publication says that renewable energy company Solareff plans to dispose of its 75% stake in GridCars. The potential sale comes amid a slowdown in charging station rollouts in South Africa due to low utilisation rates.

  • Solareff apparently seeks to focus on its main business. It is one of South Africa’s foremost commercial solar PV and battery firms. Plummeting solar component prices and an unreliable grid has led to a surge in demand.   

  • GridCars could be attractive to EV charging investors who want to enter or expand their presence in emerging markets. Acquiring an established national player requires regulatory approval and local knowledge though. 

  • Our take: Regardless of Solareff’s reason for selling, GridCars is an attractive asset… Read more (2 min)

Electric mobility consumer prices have increased by 11.38% in the past month as measured by the change in prices in a representative basket of products tracked by Mobility Rising. They include relevant vehicle categories, consumer financing costs and fees for powering options. Prices are collected by our data analysts in East, West, North and southern Africa. 

  • The Mobility Rising Price Index increased from 997.67 in September to 1,111.16 in October. It is the fastest increase in consumer prices since we started tracking consumer prices this year.  

  • We track prices in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt. Nigeria led the increase, with consumer prices jumping by an average of 36% compared to just 0.8% in South Africa. Prices remained unchanged in Egypt and Kenya.  

  • Our take: Consumers should expect EV prices to remain volatile… Read more (2 min)

Mobility Rising has spotted 17 new electric mobility job ads across Africa this week. Nigerian startup MAX leads with five new vacancies posted across engineering, operations and fleet management functions. This underlines its aggressive expansion in its logistics and maintenance network. MAX is the only company recruiting in West Africa this week.

  • East Africa is the top recruiting region with nine new listings from M-Kopa, Zembo, Dodai, Ampersand and Gogo Electric. North Africa recorded two openings from Shift EV in Egypt, while Southern Africa is quiet this week.

  • Hiring trends tilt toward tech-driven and mid-level operational roles, showing how the continent’s mobility ecosystem is evolving from early-stage pilots to more mature, performance-based growth.

  • Click here to see the full list of vacancies… (2 min)

Spiro CEO Kaushik Burman poses with Ethiopia’s transport minister in Addis Ababa

Events

📅 Attend the NEV Summit in South Africa (Oct 22)

📅 Book a slot at the Auto Tech Expo in Egypt (Oct 24)

📅 Register for Renewable Energy Forum Africa happening in Ghana (Dec 3)

Various 

🤝 Blu EV partners with Gomla Market Company to deploy battery swapping units 

🔌 BYD to build charging infrastructure across South Africa

⬆️ Kenya's EV sector gains traction amid soaring demand

Seen on LinkedIn 

Paul Plummer, COO of Everlectric, says, “It’s incredible to see global EV leaders taking such a strong interest in what’s happening (in South Africa), and we’re just getting started.”