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What China, US have done to lead the e-mobility race
Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen during the commissioning of the first E-Mobility class by KCB Foundation in partnership with The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) at Ole Sereni Hotel, Nairobi on July 5, 2023. PHOTO | LUCY WANJIRU | NMG
The global race to clean mobility has over the past few years picked up momentum, with the top economies also pulling away with innovations meant to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The US and China --the world’s economic superpowers-- and inevitably some of the biggest contributors to the globe’s environmental pollution from fossil fuels for years, are leading the race with their number of electric vehicles significantly growing over the years.
Data from the International Energy Association (IEA) shows that China tops the charts in electric car sales with an estimated cumulative 16 million units on the roads of the Asian giant from 2016 at the start of this year followed by the US at slightly about an estimated 2.8 million units.
From a State-driven agenda to set up charging stations for EVs, China, the US and Norway (a European leader in clean mobility) also rolled out incentives such as purchase subsidies for EVs and tax rebates upon registration.
“Road transport accounts for 40 percent of the global oil demand but electric cars alone are driving a major transformation of the auto industry. EVs are set to displace over five million barrels of oil demand a day by 2030, based on current policy settings alone,” IEA says in a report released this year.
“China, the European Union and the US are the leading markets with electric cars set to surge to 60 percent of total car sales across these three economies by 2030.”
IEA - the agency formed in the 70s to ensure the security of oil supplies and which now tracks the electric mobility shift globally- says that millions of engines powered by fossil fuels will be swept off the highways and roads across the globe in the wake of the spike in electric automobiles.
European nations account for a combined 7.5 million units in the same period while the rest of the world including Africa is last at a combined less than two million units.
The global leaders in the EVs, notably Beijing and Oslo have also put in place measures such as low- and zero-emission zones, ultimately driving sales of clean cars.
Parking fees for electric vehicles in some cities such as Oslo are half that for conventional units. The Norwegian government has since 2021 also exempted electric cars from the re-registration fees.
The US, which targets to have half of electric cars to account for half of all new car sales by 2030 has through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law moved to install EV charging infrastructure in residential, commercial and municipalities.
The Joe Biden administration is aiming to have a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers along America’s highways by 2030, driven by State-private sector deals.
China last month extended a tax exemption policy for new energy vehicles, pointing to Beijing’s deliberate plan to remain the global leader in clean transport.
India, Thailand and Indonesia are the other Asian nations dubbed as front-runners in the EVs migration with three-wheelers such as scooters now a familiar sight on their highways and roads.
Closer home, Kenya has been hailed as the leader in Africa as the public service transport (PSV) operators buy into the idea of electric buses.
Experts, however, hold that deliberate tax incentives must be put in place to protect the gains made so far in the country.
They add that the high number of automobile makers and banks setting aside credit facilities for clean vehicles is proof enough that the country is headed the right way to cut fossil fuel emissions as Kenya seeks to keep pace with the rest of the world.
IEA data shows that a record-breaking 10 million EVs were sold last year, with the leading economies accounting for more than 60 percent of these units and the sales for this year are tipped to eclipse the 10-million mark recorded in 2022.