Electric car users and dealers are now calling for reforms in the sector amidst the ongoing fuel shortage in the country.
The companies are pleading with the government to offer incentives that will enable the full deployment of electric vehicles in the country.
Among the policies they are pushing for is the introduction of tax incentives that will spur the uptake of electric light duty vehicles.
Other incentives they are seeking include introduction of purchase subsidies, subsiding registration tax and lower overall registration costs.
Electric car firms are also calling for increased convenience and affordable public accessible chargers. Defending their requests, the companies noted that this will increase electric vehicles uptake in the country and avert any further crisis in case of fossil fuel shortages.
Kenya Power had expressed interest in supporting the upscale of electric vehicles in the country by building charging stations.
The utility firm’s acting Managing Director, Rosemary Oduor, stated that the government is critically looking at the matter with a view to making it easier for individuals who wish to buy electric vehicles.
"Kenya Power will continue with this innovation as the country’s electricity distributor. It is not just vehicles, it is a whole eco-system that involves the charging, models of charging and engagement with the electric vehicle users," she stated.
"We already have electric bikes which we are piloting with to understand the dynamics on electric vehicles, the dynamics on charging and on the funding bit."
So far, electric vehicle companies have introduced their fleets in the city include BasiGo and Nopea Ride. There are charging stations at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), The Hub Karen and Two Rivers Mall.
Electric and LPG-powered vehicles are the only two categories that have not been affected by the ten-day long fuel crisis.
To avert a further crisis caused by the fuel shortage, President Uhuru Kenyatta approved a supplementary budget that will see oil marketers receive Ksh34.4 billion in subsidies.
"A sum of Ksh34,446,813,295 from the Supplementary Budget has been allocated to the Government fuel stabilization programme aimed at cushioning Kenyans from high-cost fuel prices occasioned by the worsening global energy crisis," read the Supplementary budget in part.
