Spiro launches 38th battery swap station

Electric vehicle company Spiro Kenya has launched its 38th battery swapping station in under a year.

The station was opened in partnership with oil marketing company Galana Energies which will host the facility.

Spiro said that the latest station is part of its ongoing expansion strategy that seeks to enable it to have an extensive network of swap stations across the country.

Among those who attended the launch were Raymond Kitunga, the Deputy Country Head of Spiro Kenya, Joan Ng’ethe, the Diversification Manager at Galana Energies and John Muchunu, the Head of Retail at Galana Energies.

“We recently celebrated the launch of our 38th battery swap station, in under a year, in partnership with Galana Energies. This marked a major milestone for us in our push for widespread e-mobility adoption by availing an extensive network of swap stations,” said Spiro.

Spiro said that the expanded network of battery swapping stations helps eliminate range anxiety by motorists and helps facilitate the push to cut carbon emissions.

Range anxiety refers to the apprehension and worry experienced by EV owners about the adequacy of their vehicle’s battery charge to complete a journey or the availability of charging stations along the way.

EV firms have embarked on a rapid expansion of their charging and battery swapping stations to facilitate the e-mobility transition.

Swapping stations enable motorists particularly motorcycle riders to swap their depleted battery swiftly with a fully-charged battery, helping them to avoid delays in charging.

Currently, local EV companies are racing to ink partnerships with oil marketing companies who already have a wide network of service stations to set up the charging infrastructure.

The local EV market is heating up, which has attracted hundreds of e-mobility companies to establish operations in the country.

Falling prices of EVs, high cost of fuel and increasing availability of charging infrastructure is facilitating more people to buy electric cars.

However, fossil fuel-powered vehicles still remain king in Kenya, with the number of EVs in the country forming less than 1% of the vehicles on Kenyan roads.

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