Ethiopia says stop to thermal cars but nothing is ready!

This African country wants to begin a sudden transition to electric vehicles, but the country’s infrastructure does not yet seem ready.

Recently, theEthiopia has decided to ban the import of thermal cars into the country. This allows to abruptly force a transition towards electric vehicles. However, this is a very ambitious.

Ethiopia wants to get ahead of Europe

In this country ofEast Africaaccess to electricity is very limited. One in two Ethiopians do not have access to this energy. This situation already raises many challenges, particularly at the level of public charging stations. They are almost non-existent and the population is clearly not ready to accept such a transition.

In Europe, the ban on the sale of thermal cars has been set for the year 2035in just over ten years. But Ethiopia has decided to get ahead. From now on, the country forbidden the importation of motor vehicles essence et diesel. Unfortunately, a large part of the population still does not have access to electricity. In addition, the country’s electricity network is extremely unstable due to frequent breakdowns.

To top it all off, Ethiopia is sorely lacking d’infrastructure to facilitate this transition to electric mobility. According to some sources, there is only one public charging station for a total of 100,000 electric vehicles registered in the country. This is an alarming figure which is already worrying.

A hasty transition and underdeveloped infrastructure

According to Abiy Ahmedthe Ethiopian Prime Minister, this decision is motivated by ecological objectives. Moreover, the economic stakes seem even more pressing. The country is currently facing a shortage foreign currency. This therefore pushes it to reduce its gasoline imports which represent an enormous cost for the national economy.

Without a proper charging network and stable electricity for a majority of the population, the mass electrification of Ethiopia already seems compromise. Another source revealed that there are about 70,000 vehicles in circulation in the country for only 50 charging stations. Even with these figures more encouraging that the first, recharging an electric vehicle in rural areas is a real challenge. However, the Ethiopian government remains positive and ambitious. By 2030he plans to reach 440,000 electric vehicles registered in the country.

This radical decision by Ethiopia is totally unpublished. Banning the import of thermal cars is interesting from an ecological point of view. But this transition seems to be rushed given the country’s infrastructure. It does not seem ready to absorb such a revolution, whether in terms of access to electricity or the availability of charging stations.