Your next parcel delivery vehicle could be an EV

June 12, 2025

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South African logistics company Special Envoy has launched a courier service that exclusively uses electric vehicles to fulfil its deliveries. Called Xpress, the EV delivery service operates using a fleet of BYD Dolphins to make overnight deliveries. The company’s founder Alex Staniland said the initial rollout has shown strong potential and is planning to expand. 

  • Unlike personal vehicles, commercial vehicles on average clock more kilometres daily, and thus their fuel expenditure is higher. Switching to EVs enables logistics companies to significantly cut their operating costs.

  • The African logistics market is experiencing steady growth and companies aer expected to add new vehicles to their fleets.

  • Our take: The majority of EVs purchased in Africa are used for commercial services… Read more (2 min)

Consumer prices in Africa’s electric mobility sector have increased by 0.07% in the past month as measured by the change in prices in a representative basket of products. They include electric motorcycle and electric car prices, 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 rose slightly in June from 1,003 to 1,003.7, mainly driven by increased EV prices in Egypt. Vehicle prices rose by 0.55% in the North African country, primarily due to increased demand.  

  • The index also went up as a result of an increase in the prices of EVs and the cost of financing in South Africa. They rose by 0.18% and 0.13% respectively between May and June. 

  • Our take: It is becoming slightly more expensive to own an EV, but as global prices reduce, this should translate to lower prices in Africa… Read more (2 min)

Barely a month after Dodai last topped Mobility Rising’s list of top EV recruiters, the Ethiopian startup continues its momentum. Out of the 14 open roles, the Ethiopian startup leads with 4, while MAX comes second with 3 vacancies. Dodai recently opened a new assembly plant in Addis Ababa and is publicly committed to scaling e-motorcycle deployment. 

  • East Africa leads with 8 roles, largely driven by Dodai’s hiring spree in Ethiopia and active recruitment in Rwanda and Uganda. Southern Africa posted only 2 roles, both in South Africa, while West Africa accounted for 4 positions, all in Nigeria and Ghana.  

  • The roles span diverse areas including engineering, operations and marketing. Interestingly, marketing emerges as the most visible functional area. This could reflect EV companies' growing push to build consumer awareness in competitive and emerging markets.

  • Check this week’s full list of vacancies here… (2 min)

Isaac Musasizi, second right, CEO of Kiira Motors, meets Next Media executives in Uganda

Events

🗓️ Join the Electrification Coalition for a fleet electrification webinar (Jun 18)

🗓️ Book a slot at the E-mobility Charging Tech Summit in Hong Kong (July 15)

🗓️ Register for the Future Cities Summit in Nigeria (July 16)

Various 

🔋 South Africa proposes 15% import tax on EV batteries

🚎 BasiGo supplies Stella Express with its first fleet of e-buses in Rwanda

🏍️ Transsion aims to conquer Africa’s EV market the same way it did with smartphones

Seen on LinkedIn 

Andile Africa, CEO of Automotive Industry Development Centre, says, “An automotive cluster is more than just a geographic concentration of firms, it’s a platform for shared learning, innovation, skills development, and economic transformation.”