Ethiopians are struggling to keep up with the new “EV or nothing” policy

When Araya Belete’s employer asked him to purchase four new cars in Addis Ababa last year, the IT professional quickly settled on an electric model, manufactured by China’s Kas Auto.

Belete chose the car because the Ethiopian government offers hefty incentives for electric vehicles, which also have lower import duties compared to gas and diesel-powered cars.

But using and maintaining the vehicles has been a struggle.

When one of the cars had a technical issue, Belete had to refer to YouTube videos to fix it. Local mechanics did not know how to repair it, and the manual was written in Mandarin. Belete’s employer also had to bear additional costs to install charging points for the cars due to a lack of public charging infrastructure in Addis Ababa.

“I don’t even know where to take my cars to have them washed,” Belete told Rest of World . “Importers are getting whatever EVs they find cheap in China and selling it on the market without being well-informed about how to service or maintain the cars.”

In February, the Ethiopian government banned imports of all non-electric vehicles. The decision was taken to reduce Ethiopia’s expense on fuel imports, which stood at $7.6 billion in 2023 . While the country has become the first in the world to stop the entry of fossil fuel-powered vehicles, the decision was made without preparing for its outcome, EV owners, dealers, and experts told Rest of World .

The “good is that it forces the whole country to move to e-mobility … [but] customers and sectors both suffer from lack of infrastructure and regulations for e-mobility while we have to deal with it,” said Yasaki Yuma, founder and CEO of Ethiopian e-mobility company Dodai.

For a country that has taken such a drastic step toward EV adoption, Ethiopia only has around 50 charging stations, said Yizengaw Yitayih , senior climate change expert at the country’s Ministry of Transport and Logistics .

Rest of World could not independently verify the number of charging stations in the country, but found at least four government-owned charging stations — of which only two are currently functional. Companies like TotalEnergies , Green Tech Africa, and Haile Motors have also set up some charging facilities across Ethiopia. Efforts from the private sector have been limited, with Ethiopia struggling to attract global investors.

70,000 The number of EVs in Ethiopia.

“From a consumer standpoint, is the country ready to support these EVs? No, there’s only a handful of chargers,” Sam Rosmarin, an Addis Ababa-based climate entrepreneur and investor, told Rest of World . “But I think the hope is that this move will generate the business case for the private sector to increase its investment in EV infrastructure. I think the private sector is waiting to see if the change is permanent.”

Some investors, however, have raised concerns that the policy’s lack of clear legislation and effective enforcement mechanisms is making it more difficult for businesses to operate. Government agencies, too, are divided on the policy. Hanna Arayaselassie, who heads the Ethiopian Investment Commission, believes that a rapid shift to electric vehicles would be incompatible with the current infrastructural restrictions and the limited number of manufacturers worldwide.

There is also a shortage of spare parts for electric cars in case of damages, Adis Yohannes, who runs an online car dealership from Addis Ababa, told Rest of World.

The policy came “damn too early,” Yohannes said. There is “a nagging sense to sell it [an EV] soon because of shortage and expensiveness of spare parts.”

Meklit Mussie, an Addis Ababa resident, bought a Volkswagen ID4 electric car in December 2023. She told Rest of World she hasn’t been able to drive it much because of the lack of charging options.

“My partner and I were unable to find a seller for fast-charging cables in Ethiopia, so we’ve been unable to install a charging station in our apartment complex until we import the cables ourselves,” Mussie told Rest of World . She now shares her partner’s gas-powered car to get around.

Yitayih acknowledged these challenges and said the government is working to resolve them. “The government is committed to expanding deployment of infrastructure throughout the country, including the capital, Addis Ababa, and emerging cities,” he told Rest of World .

In 2022, the Ethiopian government had set a goal to put 150,000 EVs on the road by 2030. Last month, the minister of transport and logistics claimed that the country already has over 100,000 EVs , and was now aiming for 500,000 in 10 years .

Yitayih told Rest of World the number of EVs in the country is currently at about 70,000.

The inadequate power supply in Ethiopia makes EV charging difficult. While electricity shortages have long plagued the country, especially its capital, the situation has deteriorated in recent years, according to local reports . In March, multiple power outages were reported across the country.

“Driving an electric car has its perks because you don’t have to suffer when there is a shortage of fuel, which has been happening often,” Mussie said. “But at the same time, we don’t have a consistent and reliable electricity supply either.”

Some Ethiopians who bought EVs, buoyed by the government’s push, are already looking to sell their cars and switch back to hybrid or fossil-fueled vehicles.

“I have started planning to substitute [my EV] with a hybrid car,” Yohannes Zewge, a civil engineer in Addis Ababa who bought a Volkswagen ID4 a year ago, told Rest of World . “Finding reliable charging stations is almost not available. Its battery-life declining rate is fast, [and] it has a limitation on a long road trip.” ▰

Sarah Assefa is a freelance writer based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Damilare Dosunmu is a Rest of World reporter based in Lagos, Nigeria.