EV Charging Infrastructure Partnerships Starting to Grow In Kenya

Kenya's electric bus company BasiGo has partnered with fuel retailer Rubis Energy Kenya to build fast-charging stations along the country's major transport routes. The first station is now running at a Rubis fuel stop in Sabaki, Athi River, with three more sites planned in Meru, Nanyuki, and Nyeri later this month. Unlike a private charging network built only for buses, these stations are open to the public and can charge electric vans, trucks, cars, and other compatible vehicles.

The Sabaki station uses two charging plug types, CCS2 and GB/T, both fast DC chargers rated at 100 kilowatts, which can charge a typical passenger car in under an hour. Charging costs about 48 Kenyan shillings per kilowatt-hour, and all future stations under this partnership will use the same setup and pricing.

This matters for Kenya's slow-growing electric car market mainly because of timing. Kenya has few electric cars on the road so far, which makes it hard to justify standalone charging stations. But BasiGo already runs a large network of fast chargers to support its electric buses, and pairing that with Rubis's 300-plus fuel stations gives the network a built-in customer base from day one. As more of these stations open along intercity routes, it becomes easier for private electric car owners to plan longer trips without worrying about finding a place to charge, which is the kind of infrastructure gap that has held back electric car adoption in the country.