European governments have set a target of 2035 for car manufacturers to stop the production of cars with internal combustion engines (ICE). The bloc wants all cars produced beyond that date to have a battery-powered system. It is soothing to know that Africa is not left behind in this transition.
Launched in January 2022 as Opibus (but rebranded as Roam in April 2022), the company has rolled out electric buses for Kenya’s public transport system. After raising $7.5 million in pre-Series A round in 2021, the company hopes to roll out the service across Africa by the end of 2023.Prior to launching their own electric buses for Kenya’s public transport system, Roam was in the business of converting diesel and gasoline vehicles to electric vehicles. The company is now slowly transitioning from not just building EVs to providing supporting infrastructure like public charging stations.Founded in 2017 by Mikael Gånge and Filip Lövström, the company has converted over 170 vehicles to EVs. According to the company, the price of conversion of gasoline vehicles was $60,000 while the cost of building new electric buses was $100,000.
*The views of the above article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Africa Speaks 4 Africa or its editorial team.