Clean Tech News & Views: EVs, Solar Energy, Batteries
, a clean energy engineering, procurement, and construction firm based in Blantyre, Malawi, has expanded its operations to include the importation and retailing of electric vehicles. The first batch of EVs are already available for consumers to buy in Malawi. The first two models are the Tata Tiago EV and the Citroen C3 EV, both built in India. Malawi, just like most countries in East and South Africa, drives on the left side of the road, and hence, requires right-hand-drive vehicles.
The car market in Malawi is currently dominated by used vehicles imported from Japan, and to some extent from the United Kingdom. As the EV sector in Japan has not been advancing as fast as other non-RHD markets such as China, that means the supply of good EVs to countries like Malawi is limited. Which is why I was excited to see companies like Tata, Citroen, and Mahindra start to become more active in India.
The good news is that Malawi has recently removed import duties that were previously levied on electric cars and also on electric motorcycles. This will help make electric cars more affordable. Malawi now has a good opportunity to leapfrog into the age of electric mobility due to its extremely low motorisation, provided the right kinds of electric vehicles can be availed at significant scale in the country.
It is quite a small market, with about 400,000 vehicles in total for a country with a population of about 20 million people. Over 80% of Malawians live in rural areas. Malawi has one of the lowest levels of electricity access in the world, with less than 20% of the population having access to electricity. Several programs are currently underway and also in the pipeline to increase electricity access.
However, for those that have access, electric mobility can make a significant impact on their lives. Electricity tariffs are quite low, at less than 7 USD cents/kWh, and switching to electric can help the country save on scarce foreign currency. Malawi spends about $500 million every year on petrol and diesel imports, and for a country facing severe foreign currency shortages, reducing this import bill will be critical.
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