“The reason I switched to an electric motorcycle was because I wanted to avoid the gas costs, which keep going up, and also the cost of going to the garage all the time for the bike. 'interview,' the 37-year-old man told AFP.

The company that transformed its machine, Rwanda Electric Motors Ltd, has so far converted around 80 motorcycle taxis - the most popular form of public transport in the capital Kigali - and developed another 200 brand new electric motorcycles.

The project, funded by the Rwandan government and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), is part of an ambitious national campaign to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 16% by 2030 and then achieve 38% decline at the end of the following decade.

In July, the Rwandan government lifted taxes on the importation of electric and hybrid vehicles as well as on equipment for charging stations, saying it hopes this would speed up the transition and "reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

Public transport engines

For the CEO of Rwanda Electric Motors Ltd, Donald Kabanda, the first argument to be made is the long-term profitability of electric vehicles.

A battery charge costs around 900 Rwandan francs (80 euro cents) and can travel up to 60 kilometers, while a liter of gasoline costs around 1,000 Rwandan francs (85 euro cents) to cover 35 kilometers. , he underlines to AFP: "Economically, it is advantageous for the drivers".

Other companies are engaged in this field.

Besides Rwanda Electric Motors Ltd, two other Kigali-based companies, Ampersand and Safi Moto, assemble electric motorcycles, while German giant Volkswagen started importing electric vehicles in October 2019 for its Move driver-car platform.

A man prepares to charge an electric Volkswagen at a recharging station in Kigali, November 2, 2021 in Rwanda Simon MAINA AFP / Archives

Although taxes on imported non-electric vehicles are high in Rwanda (between 40 and 80%), the demand for electric or hybrid cars remains low.

Victoria Motors, based in Kigali, told AFP that it had sold only 37 hybrid vehicles in 2019 and 2020, mainly to NGOs and private companies.

In a country where the GDP per capita is less than 800 dollars (707 euros) according to the World Bank, electric vehicles are out of reach for the vast majority of the 13 million inhabitants.

The government therefore wants to make public transport the main driver of change.

The authorities plan to convert 30% of motorcycles, 20% of buses and 25% of mini and micro buses to electric by 2030.

But the other challenge is the lack of charging stations in the country, underlines Evode Niyorurema.

"These bikes are so much more manoeuvrable and so much quieter compared to gasoline-powered motorcycles," he admits: "The only problem (...) is that they can only cover a relatively short distance."

© 2021 AFP