For four years, Kenyan electric vehicle (EV) founders have lived in a state of permanent “coming soon.” They’ve pitched to VCs based on “favourable government tailwinds” that felt more like a light breeze, and lobbied through enough boardroom coffee to power a small fleet of e-motorcycles.
Yesterday at the KICC in Nairobi, the breeze finally became a gale.
Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir officially launched the National E-Mobility Policy, a document that EV players are treating less like a regulatory framework and more like a collective “get out of jail free” card. With the sector’s growth hitting a massive 171% in 2025 — reaching nearly 25,000 units — the government has finally decided to codify the chaos.
The “Green Plate” Fair
The most visible takeaway from the launch is a stroke of branding genius: green number plates. CS Chirchir has directed that all EVs will now sport distinctive green reflective plates. It is, he says, a “signature” of climate commitment. In reality, it’s a brilliant way to make sure everyone in a Nairobi traffic jam knows exactly who is “saving the planet” while everyone else burns increasingly expensive fossil fuels. For startups like Roam or Ampersand, it’s free marketing; for the Kenyan driver, it’s the ultimate automotive humblebrag.
The big policy levers
The new framework introduces several measures that EV companies have been requesting with increasing politeness over the past four years:
1. Charging infrastructure baked into buildings
At least 5% of parking spaces in new commercial developments must now be allocated for EV charging infrastructure.
2. A dedicated EV electricity tariff
A specialised off-peak tariff for EV charging aims to make charging cheaper and avoid peak demand pressure. It formalises what many operators were already negotiating case-by-case with Kenya Power.
3. Fiscal incentives
The policy supports reduced import duties on EVs, tax relief on batteries and charging equipment, and other fiscal tools to bring down upfront costs — still one of the biggest barriers in a price-sensitive market. Given that batteries usually account for about 40–50% of an EV’s cost, this is the “heavy sigh of relief” the industry actually cares about.
4. Local assembly and skills development
The government wants to stimulate domestic assembly and component manufacturing, backed by training through TVET institutions and universities. The ambition is to ensure Kenya does not become purely an EV import showroom.
The Ghost of Koko Networks
The timing of this “milestone” is bittersweet. The EV celebration comes just days after Koko Networks, the former darling of Kenya’s climate-tech scene, shuttered its operations.
Koko’s collapse — a result of a regulatory standoff over carbon credits under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement — serves as a cold shower for the EV sector. It proves that “alignment” with the government is a fickle thing. One day you’re the poster child for the green transition; the next, you’re a “house of cards” waiting for a Letter of Authorisation that never comes.
While the EV players are cheering for their new green plates, the Koko 700 — the laid-off employees — are a reminder that in the world of “climate-as-a-service,” the government’s pen can be as much a sword as a shield.
What’s Next?
The policy is on the table, but the infrastructure is still on the drawing board. Kenya Power needs to prove it can handle the surge, and the Ministry of Transport needs to prove it won’t pivot to a new “priority” by 2027.
For now, the sector has what it asked for: a roadmap. Whether the road is paved or full of the usual bureaucratic potholes remains to be seen.