7% Of All New Motorcycle Registrations In Kenya In 2024 Were Electric!

Good things are happening in Africa, especially in the electric vehicle sector. We are starting to see significant traction in a number of countries on the African continent. In Ethiopia, a total ban on the import of fully built ICE cars has resulted in an incredible increase in the number of electric vehicles on the roads. In Senegal, a ground-breaking 100% electric rapid bus transit service is up and running. A number of countries are also pushing for adoption of electric buses. Over 90% of all vehicles imported in most African countries come in as used vehicles. With the growing number of used electric vehicles in Europe, China, and America, we are also starting to see a lot more used EVs coming to West, East, Central, and Southern Africa.

One of the hottest topics in Africa at the moment, however, is the rise of the electric motorcycle sector. Motorcycles are a really big deal in a lot of African countries, with most of them deployed as taxis. Close to 30 million motorcycles on the continent are used in this motorcycle taxi industry. With almost 99% of them still being internal combustion engine motorcycles, there is a huge opportunity and a large addressable market for electrification. The move towards electric vehicles in Africa, especially in this electric motorcycle sector, has mainly been driven by the private sector by small startup companies.

Most of the developments in Africa’s electric motorcycle sector have been concentrated along what is now known as the “boda belt.” The boda belt, a term coined by Tom Courtright, is a stretch of countries on the African map where motorcycle taxis have been prominent over the years. This belt stretches from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal. There is also significant activity in North African countries such as Morocco, where smaller scooters are used mainly for personal transportation, unlike in East Africa and West Africa, where most of the activity is for commercial transport purposes.

The importance of accelerating the transition to electric motorcycles along this belt and decarbonizing transport in general is gaining more attention. Electric two-wheelers clean up the air and save drivers on average 45% a year on fuel and maintenance, improving lives and livelihoods and driving entrepreneurship and social mobility. The unit economics will be a key driver in the quest to drive adoption. As more electric motorcycles hit the road now, confidence in in electric motorcycles in these markets is growing. With several companies in the electric motorcycle space now moving from early commercialization of their products to full commercial operations at decent scale, there is now a lot of activity along this boda belt.

One of the countries along this boda belt that is seeing a lot of action and significant traction in the electric motorcycle sector is Kenya. There are over 2 million internal combustion engine motorcycles in Kenya. Motorcycles make up just over 50% of Kenya’s total vehicle fleet. Motorcycle taxis are popularly known as boda bodas in Kenya and other markets. The motorcycle taxi industry is a vital segment of Kenya’s economy. Transitioning this sector to electric will make an enormous difference in the pockets of the owners of the bikes as well as the riders. Many of the startups that are active in Kenya’s electric motorcycle ecosystem are offering innovative financing arrangements including models where one can buy the motorcycle and then rent the batteries, reducing the upfront costs. Range anxiety fears are also eliminated by offering battery swap services.

It is also important to accelerate the adoption of electric motor vehicles in Kenya’s largest vehicle segment to reduce emissions. Kenya’s grid is already exceptionally clean. Renewables provide around 90% of Kenya’s electricity generation. By gradually increasing the penetration of electric motorcycles in Kenya, significant savings in CO2 emissions can be achieved. This can be achieved by incentivizing purchases of new electric motorbikes. 2023 was the first time the Kenyan motorcycle sales market saw a noticeable increase in the share of electric motorcycles in the overall new registrations market. In 2023, there were 70,691 motorcycles sold in Kenya. 2,557 of these were electric. That means 3.6% of motorcycles sold in 2023 in Kenya were electric. That is almost 4%. So, we did not expect it to be long before the market share reached the critical 5%, which is generally viewed as the tipping point indicating the start of mass adoption. The share of electric motorcycles rose to 3.6% in 2023 from 2.8% in 2022 and 0.5% in 2021. 2024 was even better as the market share surged to 7.1%. The KNBS Economic Survey Report (2025) shows that 68,804 new motorcycles were registered Kenya in 2024. Of these, 4862 motorcycles were electric according to data presented by the Electric Mobility Association of Kenya (EMAK). That is where the 7.1% market share comes from.

Several local-based firms have done a magnificent job to build this industry from scratch from about 7 years ago. After going through the various stages of early pilots, further pilots, multiple iterations and pivots, resulting in a number of them finding the sweet spot and then graduating into early commercialization phases of their products. These firms had to dig deep in their research and development phases to produce electric motorcycles that can handle the demands of the boda boda industry, and at the same time, handle the local terrain as well as rough road conditions. This is because for their products to take off, they really needed to make products that are robust enough to match or exceed the ICE products that are currently on the market. That meant they could not just bring off the shelf products and components from overseas, but they really had to adapt their designs for these conditions. After that, the next thing was to show that these new electric motorcycles had a lower total cost of ownership. Then the next step was to forge strategic partnerships with partners that are already in the distribution and financing ecosystem for traditional motorcycles. This would unlock important channels that align with their route to market strategies.

It seems all of these efforts are bearing fruit, as the sector is making steady progress given the increasing market share of electric motorcycles in Kenya. Going from 0 to 7% in about three years is really cool. However, it should be noted that this market share has been aided by the startling decline in the sales of new motorcycles in Kenya, from a peak of 285,203 motorcycles sold in 2021 to just 68,804 in 2024. This huge drop in sales has been attributed to lower consumer purchasing power which has reduced the daily utilization of boda bodas in Kenya, and consequently also reduced the daily unit profitability for motorcycle taxis due to higher fuel costs in recent times. Other factors include higher financing costs on top of increased sticker prices for some models.

Given their lower total cost of ownership, this could be a key moment for electric motorcycles in Kenya. Players in the electric motorcycle industry could take advantage of this and capitalize on reduced demand for motorcycles, which have traditionally been mostly ICE motorcycles over the years, by emphasizing potential savings that could be derived from switching to electric. Could we see a further decline in the overall market in 2025? This would mean the market share of electric motorcycles would surge to even higher levels, given that a number of players in the Kenya market are starting to ramp up production of their electric motorcycles. 14% market share for 2025? Let us wait and see.