The ministry’s head of road transport Martin Eshiwani said he had asked the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) to start the process of developing the rules.
Kebs managing director Charles Ongwae said developing a standard — from inception to approval — by the National Standards Council takes about 18 months.
These shifting investments, however, may not be enough to meet th e hunger of nations such as China that have set high quotas for electric and hybrid cars.
Transport ministry plans to develop standards for environment-friendly electric and hybrid vehicles this financial year in line with the rising global revolution in car manufacturing.
The ministry’s head of road transport Martin Eshiwani said he had asked the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) to start the process of developing the rules.
“The government is encouraging importation of electric vehicles but we don’t have standards,” he told reporters in Nairobi on Monday.
“We have now embarked on the process of developing the standards for electric motor vehicles and motor cycles to reduce emissions.”
Carbon emissions in the transportation sector, he said, are to blame for increased cases of respiratory diseases which cost billions of shillings annually in medical infrastructure and treatment.
Mr Eshiwani said there are a few electric and hybrid cars imported into the country, adding that importers face clearance challenges at the Port of Mombasa.
“We want to roll out the process, but we have not started yet. But the initial communications and discussions between our ministry and Kebs have already started,” he said.
Kebs managing director Charles Ongwae said developing a standard — from inception to approval — by the National Standards Council takes about 18 months.
“However, if there is an urgent requirement the law allows Kebs to develop a guideline using a National Workshop Agreement (NWA). NWA takes three months to complete and is translated into a standard in 18 months,” Ongwae said. “Once NWA is approved by the Standards Council, the product is permitted to be sold.”
Aside from developing standards, the country will also train people on the maintenance and upkeep of hybrid and electric cars. A market for the provision of spare parts also needs to be developed.
Growing concerns about climate change is pushing the world to embrace technologies such as electric and hybrid motor vehicles.
Thus, leading auto firms in the world are increasingly shifting their investments. Swedish automaker Volvo has announced it will only manufacture hybrid and electric cars from 2019, joining a host of other auto giants.
Renault-Nissan have already produced about 350,000 electric cars, while German auto dealer Volkswagen targets a million vehicles by 2025.
These shifting investments, however, may not be enough to meet th e hunger of nations such as China that have set high quotas for electric and hybrid cars.
Automakers recently wrote to Beijing asking it to relax some of these quotas.
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