WopeCar introduces rental electric cars

From the newsletter 

Ghanaian vehicle rental company WopeCar has introduced electric vehicle rentals to its fleet. WopeCar rents out vehicles on a short-term basis and currently works with more than 150 fleet providers. This comes at a time when customers, especially businesses and governments, are opting for renting and leasing to minimise the upfront cost of purchasing new vehicles. 

• WopeCar joins companies like Loxea, Equator Mobility, Rideence Africa, Novago, Electric Transits Africa, EV Africa, Green Wheels Africa and ElandX that provide EV renting and leasing services in Africa.

• Customers can rent or lease an EV for hours, days, weeks or months at an agreed fee. Electric cars enable users to reduce their running costs compared to fuel vehicles, which is a major draw for customers who mainly rent them for commercial use. 

More details

• WopeCar says the electric cars in its fleet will help customers reduce their operational costs, avoid Ghana’s volatile fuel prices and remove the need to spend heavily to buy an electric car upfront. “The future is electric,” said the company’s General Manager Sheena Sue Biney. 

• This comes even as Ghana’s EV adoption remains limited despite growing global momentum. A recent study in the country involving nearly 1,000 drivers showed there was growing interest in electric cars mainly due to economic reasons, but adoption faces obstacles including high costs, charging infrastructure gaps, and power supply concerns. 

• EV renting and leasing is growing across the continent, especially in the major markets like South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana. While still in its early stages, this market is showing significant growth, as new electric cars continue to flood into the market. Renting is popular with individual customers, who rent an electric car for a few hours or days. Corporate entities like companies prefer leasing on longer-term durations of typically a year or more. 

• Leasing companies often provide a complete service ecosystem, including charging network access, home and workplace charger installation, roadside support, and personalized advisory services. While some EV companies charge monthly or yearly charges, others like BasiGo have employed a pay-as-you-go model. This enables customers to pay based on the usage of the EV. 

• Unlike traditional car leasing companies, EV leasing companies face unique challenges, especially the fast depreciation rates of electric cars. They also face the major challenge of investing heavily in charging infrastructure which remains inadequate in the majority of African countries. However, EVs enable fleet owners to better track their performance. 

• The vehicle leasing market in Africa is projected for significant growth, with an estimated annual growth rate of around 9%. The key drivers of this growth are expected to be growing urbanization and infrastructural development, leading to increased demand for vehicles in sectors like construction and cargo transport. This presents a market opportunity for leasing companies to incorporate electric cars into their fleet. 

Our take

• Initial adoption of EV rentals has been concentrated in major urban centers like Accra, Nairobi, and Lagos, but the next phase will likely see companies like WopeCar leveraging their existing fleet provider networks to introduce EVs to a wider range of commercial clients.

• As the market grows, vehicle rental and leasing companies will likely have to move beyond just providing a car. To address the significant challenges of charging infrastructure and maintenance, they will be required to offer key services like charging and out-of-charge rescue. 

• Leasing companies charge more for electric cars as they are still very expensive to buy. Lessees currently still pay because they enjoy lower operational costs. But rising electricity prices in many African countries could lower the cost savings and make EV leasing unviable.