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Last week, Car & General launched a brand new dealership in Kitui, Kenya. The dealer, Salaba Holdings, will be retailing the company’s Piaggio three-wheelers and TVS motorcycles as well as offer service and parts in the eastern region town. Kitui is 162 km east of Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, and about 435 km from Mombasa.
Car & General is one of the leading distributors of tuk-tuks and motorcycles in Kenya. Car & General was the pioneer of tuk-tuks and motorcycles as taxis in Kenya over two decades ago. The tuk-tuk and motorcycle sectors in Kenya are dominated by ICE vehicles. However, we are starting to see some significant traction towards electrification. Electric motorcycles had a 4% market share in new motorcycle registrations in 2023 and electric tuk-tuks managed to get close to 1% in 2023.
In a major boost for the electric three-wheeler sector last year, Car & General launched its electric three-wheelers in Nairobi and Mombasa in a bid to revolutionize transport by contributing to cleaner environment and lower operational costs. Car & General says e-mobility solutions cut down emissions, thus alleviating challenges of climate change, and therefore the company is keen on promoting the electric vehicle sector. After launching Piaggio electric 3-wheelers in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa, Car & General also partnered with CHAJI to deploy 30 charging stations in Mombasa to facilitate seamless charging of these electric three-wheelers in Kenya’s largest coastal city.
Car & General says CHAJI’s smart socket charging solution is an ideal match for its electric 3-wheelers, which come equipped with quick charging capabilities through a provided off-board charger. This technology ensures that its electric three-wheelers can be rapidly and efficiently charged, minimizing downtime and significantly enhancing the appeal of electric vehicles for commercial use and passenger use.
Here are the specs of the Piaggio electric tuk-tuks on sale in Kenya:
Apé E-City FX Max (Passenger Version)
- 145 km (± 5 km) driving range on a single charge
- Top speed of 50 km/h
- 8 kWh lithium-ion battery (51.2 V)
- 4.4 kW peak motor @3,500 rpm
- 29 Nm peak torque
- 3 kW charger
- Charge time: 3 hours 45 mins
- Bigger, 12” tyre size
- Grade ability of 20%
- Warranty — 1 year
- Transparent windows on the side
- Telematics 2.0 (improved location accuracy, new features on mobile app for drivers & owners)
Apé E-Xtra FX Max (Cargo Version)
- 115 km (± 5 km) driving range on a single charge
- Top speed of 50 km/h
- 8 kWh lithium-ion battery (51.2 V)
- 5.5 kW peak motor @3,500 rpm
- 45 Nm peak torque
- 3 kW charger
- Charge time: 3 hours 45 mins
- Bigger, 12” tyre size
- Higher ground clearance of 220 mm
- Grade ability of 19%
- Warranty — 1 year
- Telematics 2.0 (improved location accuracy, new features on mobile app for drivers & owners)
The new dealership in Kitui helps Car & General expand its reach. Car & General says it wants to take its products closer to customers. This move will also play a role in catalysing adoption of electric three-wheelers, as more people outside Nairobi and Mombasa will be able to get an opportunity to see these vehicles, test drive them, as well as purchase them.
Speaking at the launch of the new dealership in Kitui, Jones Musau, the Regional Manager for C&G said, “C&G is committed to its mantra of making customers smile in every street, in every town with quality products and after-sales services. Our two and three wheelers play an integral role in transforming millions of lives by creating employment opportunities and providing reliable and efficient last mile connectivity for people and goods. This launch of the Kitui dealer resonates with Car & General’s philosophy of moving its products and services closer to its customers.”
If you have ever been to Mombasa, Kenya, and other towns in the coastal regions, such as Malindi, Watamu, Kilifi, and Diani, you may have noticed that 3-wheelers are an integral part of the transport ecosystem in the coastal region. Currently, Mombasa on its own has close to 15,000 passenger 3-wheelers on the road with internal combustion engines, making it a key transport mode for the region.
3-wheelers are also used in other parts of the country, and 99% of these 3-wheelers are still internal combustion engine based. Accelerating the transition to electric will go a long way in reducing emissions from these 3-wheelers, as well as reducing the noise pollution. The entry of large players such as Car & General into Kenya’s electric three-wheeler sector as well as the rollout of charging infrastructure by players such as CHAJI will go a long way along the journey to catalyse adoption of electric vehicles in Kenya. It’s really great to see Car & General is expanding its footprint and adding new locations such as Kitui.
We have been covering developments in the electric motorcycle and three-wheeler sector in Kenya for over 6 years now. During that time, most of the activities have been focusing on Nairobi, and more recently Mombasa as well. Outside of a few pilots, there haven’t been a lot of activities in other cities and towns. This is why I am excited to see Car & General and partners open a dealership in Kitui. As the official distributors of Piaggio electric tuk-tuks in Kenya, it means more people outside the big cities can also get an opportunity to go electric.
In general, the motorcycle segment has gotten a lot of attention in a number of African countries as one of the lowest hanging fruits for electrification. There are over 27 million ICE motorbikes registered across Africa, with around 80% of them used in the motorcycle taxi industry. This presents a large addressable market for players in the sector. It’s great to see electric tuk-tuks also coming into the mix.
Speaking of electric mobility companies in Kenya, in general, a lot of them had been going through various phases of piloting their products to get the right market fit as well as suitable and scalable business models. Quite a number of them are now starting to emerge from this phase and are in the initial phases of commercializing the latest iterations of their products and business models. This give us hope that 2025 will be the year when quite a number of them really start to gain significant traction in the market.
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