EV firm Roam Electric opens first shop outside Nairobi

Electric vehicle (EV) company Roam Electric has opened a sales shop in Thika Town, its first shop outside Nairobi County.

The company, which locally manufactures electric motorcycles and buses, said the shop will offer integrated services, including sales, battery charging and rental services.

The opening of a new shop by Roam comes at a time when demand for EVs particularly electric motorcycles is rising fast as the purchase of the vehicles starts to make more economic sense to motorists.

We’re delighted to announce the official launch of Roam Shop – Thika—our very first station outside Nairobi. Roam Shop – Thika is a one-stop shop offering Roam Air electric motorcycles for sale, battery charging and rental services, and aftersales support.

roam

Roam focuses on four main business segments, namely;

• The Roam Air: a tailored electric motorcycle designed in Kenya for Africa.
• Roam Transit: a segment focused on electric bus production for Kenyan and African public transport sectors.
• Roam Energy and Charging: A segment which distributes off-the-shelf energy and charging products.
• Roam Canopy: A segment which provides tailored software applications to fleet owners, business operators, financiers and others.

But the company is operating in an increasingly crowded market where hundreds of companies have joined to take a slice of the rapidly growing e-mobility market.

As of December 2023, 2,694 EVs were registered in Kenya, bringing the cumulative number of registered EVs to 3,753, according to the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).

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But the lack of necessary infrastructure to support this growth, particularly a scarcity of charging stations, remains a major stumbling block for EV firms, who are hamstrung by the high cost of establishing such facilities.

It is for this reason that the Kenyan government has signaled intention to step in with incentives and investment in the sector to support its growth.

For instance, the National Treasury in the recently published draft Government Transport Policy 2024 revealed that it is planning to construct 1,000 EV charging stations across the country particularly in urban centers and on major highways.

The Treasury has further directed that government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) deploy EVs and e-bikes in non-operational areas for cost cutting measures.  

brian@theenergyreview.com