Africa's development of electric vehicles has begun to take off, and China has begun to rewrite the monopoly pattern of Japan and Europe

Special correspondent of the Global Times in Egypt: Huang Peizhao, Global Times reporter Chen Zishuai

"China's booming electric vehicles are having a growing influence in Africa and are beginning to influence the electrification process in Africa." Cleantechnica, a world-renowned clean energy media, recently reported that in Ethiopia, a large number of Chinese-made Volkswagen ID. models appear in dealer showrooms and roads, and have become one of the mainstream products in the local electric vehicle market; in Ghana, several companies and start-ups provide more than 20 Chinese-made electric vehicles for the local area, including cars, SUVs and minivans; In Rwanda, Go Kabisa has brought Geely's Geometry E pure electric SUV to the local area, bringing consumers a cost-effective option; The only new electric vans available in Zimbabwe and Kenya are provided by BYD, which have been widely used in the local logistics and transportation industry; SAIC Maxus Delivery 3 and Dongfeng Xiaokang EC3 have become star products in the South African market, and sales are increasing year by year...

When interviewed by the Global Times reporter in many African countries, he found that Kenya, Morocco, Ghana, Ethiopia, Egypt, Rwanda and other countries are accelerating the development of electric vehicles, and there is no lack of Chinese electric vehicles in these countries. Egypt's Izvestia newspaper wrote that Chinese brands and multinational brands made in China are rewriting the landscape of the African auto market due to their low prices and high quality.

Even if African countries have put forward corresponding electric vehicle development plans, a number of industry experts said in an interview with the Global Times that the current African automotive industry is relatively backward, with weak infrastructure and limited consumption capacity, and these restrictions are difficult for China's electric vehicles to have a substantial impact on the local electrification transformation at this stage.

Begin to rewrite the monopoly pattern between Japan and Europe

Chinese electric vehicles are becoming known to more African locals. The Global Times reporter learned during the interview that "BYD, Chery, Dongfeng, Reading..." When it comes to Chinese electric vehicle brands, many locals in West African countries are familiar with them. The relevant person in charge of BYD told the Global Times reporter that BYD entered the African market in 2004 and its current business scope covers North Africa, West Africa, South Africa and other places. After seeing the increasing influence of China's electric vehicles in the local area, BYD expanded its business content from the sales of fuel vehicles in the early stage to energy-saving and environmentally friendly new energy passenger vehicles, buses, rail transit and other fields.

As Chinese-made electric vehicles begin to spread in African countries, China has become an important driving force for the electrification transformation of the African automotive industry. Algeria's "Oriental News" commented that Chinese-made electric vehicles are occupying more and more market share in Africa, and the cake is getting bigger and bigger, providing necessary technical and product support for Africa's electrification transformation.

The original map of the African auto market has also been rewritten by the accelerated introduction of electric vehicles in China. He Liehui, chairman of Dalu Group, who has long-term living experience in many African countries, told the Global Times reporter that most of the new and second-hand cars on the African continent are Japanese cars and European and American cars, especially low-priced second-hand cars, and the number of Chinese cars in the local area is small. Egypt's Izvestia newspaper reported that the situation is now accelerating. Cheap and high-quality Chinese-made cars are gradually replacing cars produced in Japan and Europe, becoming an important entrant and influencer of African automobiles.

"Chinese electric vehicles have good performance and excellent design, which are suitable for the commercial needs of Africa." Kenyan car dealer Makuka said in an interview with the Global Times.

Africa's vision for electrification

At present, most countries in Africa have the intention to develop and implement policies and plans related to electric vehicles. According to the African Automotive Outlook 2021 report released by the African Development Bank, Egypt plans to invest US$1.35 billion to build electric vehicle charging stations and manufacturing plants to promote the development of the local electric vehicle industry; the Ethiopian government has introduced a series of tax cuts and subsidies to encourage consumers to buy electric vehicles; the Kenyan government has also begun to promote electric vehicles, planning to gradually introduce more electric vehicles and charging facilities in the next few years; South Africa plans to achieve 25% of all new car sales by 2035 in electric vehicles. In addition, Nigeria, Morocco, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal and other countries are also promoting electric vehicle development plans.

The development of electric vehicles in Africa has certain innate conditions. According to Cleantechnica, low electricity prices in African countries such as Ethiopia provide fertile ground for the development of electric vehicles. More importantly, in the production of batteries, important components of electric vehicles, Africa has many key raw material resources. For example, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of the world's largest producers of cobalt, and Africa also has a large amount of lithium, nickel and other mineral resources.

It's still in its infancy

Cleantechnica believes that the African continent has the possibility of bypassing the era of fuel vehicles and directly entering the era of electric transportation. However, from the actual situation at this stage, the realization of vehicle electrification in Africa is still on paper.

"Africa is in the early stages of introducing electric vehicles." Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, told the Global Times reporter that electric vehicles are not only high in price, but also have high infrastructure requirements, and Africa still does not have these conditions, and there is still a long way to go to become a consumer trend. Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the National Passenger Vehicle Market Information Association, also believes that the current development of vehicle electrification in Africa is still in a relatively backward state, the industrial foundation is weak, and it does not yet have the potential for electrification transformation.

"The governments of South Africa and Ethiopia have proposed the development of electric vehicles, but infrastructure such as charging piles is still a prominent shortcoming." He Liehui said that African countries such as Zimbabwe are also facing the problem of lack of electricity, which has also invisibly hindered the development of electric vehicles.

At present, the proportion of electric vehicles in the overall African automotive market is still low. According to the African Automotive Outlook 2021 report, Africa's market share in global car sales is only 2%, while electric vehicles account for less than 1% of the overall African automotive market. Algeria's "Oriental News" commented that the size of Africa's electric vehicle market is relatively small, and it is necessary to further expand the market size and improve consumer awareness and acceptance.

"Although the region is rich in key mineral resources such as cobalt, nickel and lithium used to make electric vehicle batteries, it is difficult to establish an effective automotive industry and battery industry, at most to develop some battery raw material purification projects, which makes it impossible for Chinese car companies to go to Africa to build cars, and it is difficult to help them achieve electric transformation in depth." Cui Dongshu told the Global Times.

According to Xu Haidong, as Africa's leading electric vehicle market, Egypt has sent relevant personnel to China many times to exchange ideas on the introduction of electrification equipment with the Chinese government and enterprises, but no substantial progress has been made so far. Xu Haidong analyzed that the African government has realized the broad prospects of electric vehicles, but due to the constraints of funds, consumer acceptance, infrastructure capacity and other aspects, it is difficult for Africa to quickly achieve electrification transformation.