EV IN AFRICA IS A SCAM.
Cut the story short, African countries are grappling with power issues.
We have enough sources, but with the worst power distribution, it will be difficult to set up superchargers. I heard that Tanesco boss was claiming that, Tanzania have enough power and most power issues comes for overload that we can’t resolve because our customers disconnect their electronics when power went off. Hope they have forgotten that they pay no one if their power causes damages 🤣.
I hope we don’t have a fresher in the issue, so don’t riddle me with that. Lets talk about EV.
The issue of queues, even in Europe, queues at charging stations exist, but our poorly planned urban areas will result in a never-ending stream of cars with drained batteries, waiting all over the stations. To fully charge a Tesla takes about 30 minutes in a supercharger and 10 to 12 hours in a standard 240v power outlet. Guess what? I’m thinking of those Tesla in Kariakoo or Posta 😥 hope they will leave a passage for pedestrians.
In my opinion, Teslas are meant to be sold as brand new, as repairing them is worse than buying a new one.
No offense, I think it’s related to our financial issues because it’s our culture to buy used cars, there is no study I can refer to, but I’m sure large number of the cars cruising in Dar es Salaam are Japanese second hand, most are 10 years old since manufactured
When buying a Tesla that is only 5 years old, in many cases you will be required to change the drive unit and battery pack, which cost around $13K and $20K, respectively. It’s true that most Tanzanian middle-class people ride in $15K cars, The price, after settling all import costs, is not even enough for a battery pack replacement of your used Tesla before any tax. If that is yet the tightest last button of your shirt used to choke you, then take this.
Some buy Teslas for the novelty of the self-driving feature, a few for environmental reasons, and the vast majority for safety and low operating costs.
Apart from operating costs, the average African won’t buy a car for any of the other mentioned reasons. Environmental issues won’t stop an average African from wanting to ride in his dream car.
That Running cost looks to be a reason, until you know that EVs are convenient in places where public transport is well established and you can use your EV for only in a short range. In most African cases where public transport is not friendly, you will have to use your EV frequently. It uses an average of about 34 kWh per 160 km. It’s cheap and you can save about $800 to $1000 every year. It is far cheaper than a conventional car. Either way, with rapid recharge cycles from frequent usage, you will have to add $16k to your $4k you have saved from fuel in four years to replace the battery pack, assuming the drive unit is not dead.
I stand to be corrected, but in most African countries, EV is yet to be convenient.
