Kenya orders 100 electric buses through Electric bus supplier BasiGo
Electric bus supplier BasiGo has ordered 100 electric buses in a bid to scale up E-mobility operations in Nairobi.
The company has signed a financing deal with KCB Bank to scale up operations in Nairobi after a seven-month pilot.
As part of the agreement, a three-year financing facility from a Kenyan bank will be made available, covering up to 90% of the Sh5 million purchase price for the electric buses.
Electric bus supplier BasiGo launched operations in Nairobi in March 2022 in collaboration with Citi Hoppa and East Shuttle says the electric buses have covered 90,000km ferrying over 112,000 passengers.
More than 100 bookings have been made for the company’s K6 electric bus, and it plans to increase supply next year, working with KCB to focus on passenger service vehicles.
“The key to getting electric buses on the road in Kenya is to make them affordable to PSV owners. The partnership we have signed today with KCB Bank is game-changing. It will allow bus owners to secure asset financing for an electric bus exactly in line with how they have been purchasing diesel buses.,” said Jit Bhattacharya, CEO, and co-Founder at BasiGo.
BasiGo keeps control of the battery within the bus and sells the electric buses directly or through a leasing scheme.
Following that, the battery is leased to the PSV operator via a Sh20 per kilometer Pay-As-You-Drive subscription.
According to BasiGo, they reduce the risks for PSV operators by ensuring battery performance and handling all bus charging and maintenance.
Lenders eager to secure green funding and adhere to Environment Social Governance (ESG) requirements are putting their financial power behind electric automobiles.
In response to the growing popularity of battery-powered vehicles among consumers and the increased demand for electric vehicles, NCBA Group established an electric vehicle financing program worth Sh2 billion.
Customers will benefit from asset financing of up to 80% of the entire cost during the course of the five-year agreement.
In addition, for applications for electric car loans submitted within the first 90 days, NCBA will offer a 10 percent interest rate on a decreasing balance.
For smaller motorbike and tuktuk units, E-mobility companies are utilizing, in addition to banks, purchase now pay later businesses like M-Kopa and Watu Credit.
Companies that sell electric motorcycles in Kenya are using joint ventures with asset finance lenders to increase sales by focusing on boda boda riders.
In order to produce a fleet of motorcycles by the end of 2022 in time for mass deployment in early 2023, M-Kopa has teamed up with the Swedish-Kenyan technology startup Roam.
ARC Ride Kenya which launched a plant in Kenya producing 500 two and three-wheeled electric scooters and bikes each month also partnered with MKopa and Watu credit to be able to offer the product through flexible financing terms.
As companies like Arc Ride and BasiGo look to bring affordable electric vehicles into the market, a new industry is forming, the battery charging hubs that will replace the fuel stations in the future.
Kenya Power said it will start constructing electric charging systems for homes, businesses, and the public across the country as the shift to clean transport gathers momentum.
The electricity distributor said it has enough electricity to charge 50,000 buses and two million motorcycles during off-peak hours.
The State-owned power utility is seeking a firm to build an e-mobility network infrastructure system (ENIS) in Nairobi and Nakuru to pilot the charging stations.
Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) has also installed an electric vehicle charging station in Nairobi as the State agency joins other actors steering the push for e-mobility.
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