The Next Big Thing In Kenya’s Electric Mobility Sector – Electric Cars (Part 1: Charging Infrastructure) – CleanTechnica

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The number of electric vehicles in Kenya has been increasing steadily over the last few years, and there are now signs of significant growth in certain vehicle segments such as the electric motorcycle sector. One of the key indicators is the growth observed in electricity consumption attributed to electric vehicles. For the financial year that ended on the 30th of June 2025, Kenya’s Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority,  EPRA, reports that electric mobility consumption was 5.04 GWh, which is a whopping 300% increase from the previous financial year’s consumption of 1.26 GWh. 

Electric cars still have a low market share in Kenya and this presents a great opportunity. For example, in 2024, electric car registrations were only 0.18% of all cars registered in Kenya. The majority of cars registered in Kenya each year are used vehicles from places such as Japan, the United Kingdom, and Thailand. As the number of used electric vehicles grow in those markets, they will start finding their way to Kenya in decent numbers in the near future. This is already starting to happen as vehicle importers begin to use their usual channels to add EVs to their portfolio. Another sector that is seeing increased activity is the ride-hailing sector as drivers look to reduce operational costs. 

This early activity in Kenya’s electric car space has seeded the development of a small but promising public charging infrastructure thanks to several startups operating in this space. Kenya has 47 counties, and this small but promising charging infrastructure, which is a mix of AC and DC charging stations, has now grown to have some presence in 11 of the 47 counties. Most sites have one or 2 connectors, but it is encouraging to see that we are now beginning to have some sites with up to 20 connectors (a mix of AC and DC chargers) such as this site in Karen, Nairobi.

Here is a snapshot of the charging infrastructure at the moment. It’s still small, so we can basically list all known sites. But it’s encouraging to see some activity in 11 of the 47 counties. Hopefully the infrastructure players will get support from investors and funders to accelerate the rollout of this charging infrastructure meaning we won’t be able to list all known sites on one or two pages.

Public Chargers & Types in Kenya

Nairobi County

1. Waterfront, Karen – AC Type 1, Type 2
2. The Well, Karen – AC Type 1, Type 2 | DC – CHAdeMO, CCS2
3. Karen C, Lang’ata Road – AC
4. Karen 31 off Ngong Road – AC Type 2, CCS2 + GB/T
5. Adlife, Kilimani – AC Type 1, Type 2
6. Sarit Centre, Westlands – AC, DC CHAdeMO
7. UNGA House, Westlands – Type 2
8. ABC Place, Westlands – AC, DC
9. Standard Chartered, Chiromo – AC Type 2
10. Mövenpick, Westlands – AC Type 2
11. Village Market, Gigiri – AC Type 2
12. Two Rivers Mall, Runda – AC Type 2, Type 1
13. KCB Towers, Upper Hill – Type 2 AC
14. NCBA HQ, Ragati Road, Upper Hill – Type 2 AC
15. NCBA Masaba, Upper Hill – Type 2 AC
16. Britam Towers, Upper Hill – AC Type 2
17. CPF House, CBD – DC (not specified)
18. Jomo Kenyatta International Airport – Type 1, Type 2 AC + DC CHAdeMO
19. BasiGo Depot, Embakasi – CCS2 + GB/T
20. Roam Hub, Kayole – DC CCS2
21. Roam Park, ICD Road – DC CCS2
22. Total, Hurlingham – DC CCS2, AC Type 2
23. Stima Plaza, Parklands – DC CCS2, AC Type 2
24. Atlas Auto Service Centre, Thika Road – AC Type 2, Type1 DC GB/T
25. Strathmore University, Madaraka – AC 22kW

Kiambu County

1. Kamakis, Next to Kamakis Corner Square, Ruiru – AC type 2
2. BasiGo Station, Kikuyu – DC CCS2 
3. BasiGo Station, Thika – DC CCS2 
4. Trinity Energy Service Station, Banana – AC Type 2
5. Unique Auto, Ruiru – GB/T 60kw
6. Mkeka wa mbao, Gitaru- Type 2 
7. Thindigua, Kiambu Road opp. Quickmart – Type 2 & Type 1 AC 22kw

Nakuru County

1. Nakuwell, white house – DC CCS2+GB/T
2. Buffalo mall, Naivasha – AC type 2
3. Safari mall, Naivasha type2
4. Westside mall, Nakuru- AC type 2
5. Hillcourt resort, Nakuru- AC 22kw Type 2 & GB/T
6. Crescent Lodge, Naivasha- 7kw Type 2
7. Kwa Amos, Kinamba- 7kw Type 2
8. Kwa Amos, Karai -Type 2
9. Kwa Amos, Mirera – Type 2 

Kisumu County

Mega City Mall, Kisumu – AC type 2

Mombasa County

City Mall Nyali – AC Type 2,Type 1

Laikipia County

1. Sportman Arms, Baraburitto, Nanyuki- Type 2, Type 1
2. K energy petrol station, Nyahururu-Type 2
3. Gmax motors, Nanyuki – Type2 
4. 4NTE stage, Nyahururu – CCS2 

Machakos County

1. Green park/ Acacia mall, Athi River – Type 2 
2. Petrocity, Mavoko – AC type 2, and DC – CCS2
3. Petrocam opp. KMTC, Machakos- GBT
4. Bellways Business Park, Syokimau – Type 2
5. KAIST, Konza City- AC 11kw 

Narok County

Dallas Lounge, Narok Town -22kw Type 2& GBT

Kisii County

1. Kisii Town- 7kw Type 2
2. Ogembo – 7kw Type 2

Nyeri County

Nyeri National Polytechnic AC charger 

Uasin Gishu County

Eldoret National Polytechnic – AC charger 22kw

List of Chargers compiled by Celestine Kemuma, Project Officer, Electric Cars, Society of East Africa

One thing you will notice is the presence of the Chinese GB/T standard. It is of course normal to expect CCS2 and CHAdeMO in Kenya as the UK and Japan have always been traditional source markets for cars in general, therefore cars with CCS2 and CHAdeMO are to be expected. The growth of GB/T is from a new but growing supply of EVs from China, which has not been a traditional source market as most Chinese ICE cars over the years were not really available in Kenya. This is changing as there are now more right-hand drive EVs from China that are starting to find takers in Kenya. There is also a growing number of small 16- to 19-seater electric minibuses from China that are now being utilized in Kenya’s minibus taxi (matatu sector). These are also driving the need for GB/T.

This modest but promising charging infrastructure landscape presents an opportunity for players in the sector along with investors and funders. With Kenya starting from a very low base, and as the transition to electric accelerates in major source markets where Kenya gets its new and used vehicles from, demand for charging infrastructure will grow, and so will the utilization of those chargers, which will help the business case for investing in charging infrastructure in Kenya. Some charge point operators such as EVChaja are already reporting increasing utilisation at their sites, which is promising. A lot more awareness is needed to promote adoption of electric cars in Kenya, but the good news is there is now a decent foundation to build on.