NAIROBI, Oct 7 – Kenya has signed a $3 billion memorandum of understanding with Endelevu Enterprise Corporation for a proposed electric vehicle manufacturing and infrastructure project that would establish production facilities for cars and two-wheelers alongside a nationwide charging network.
The agreement, signed at State House in Nairobi, proposes an assembly plant with annual capacity for 50,000 four-wheel vehicles and a separate facility capable of producing 100,000 two-wheelers and other light electric vehicles each year.
The project would also include 1,000 solar-powered charging hubs and a digital platform designed to manage as many as 100,000 electric vehicles.
Endelevu is partnering with Chinese automaker Geely on the proposed investment. President William Ruto said the government expects the project to progress from the memorandum stage to definitive agreements, construction and eventually production.
The proposed development is a framework for investment rather than a completed financing or construction commitment. Its implementation will therefore depend on subsequent agreements, approvals and project execution.
Manufacturing and Jobs
The Kenyan government estimates that the project could create approximately 2,000 direct jobs and more than 20,000 indirect jobs across suppliers, logistics providers and other supporting businesses.
A further 80,000 opportunities are projected in fleet management, vehicle operations and related services.
The proposed manufacturing base would support Kenya’s efforts to increase local value addition in the automotive sector, moving beyond the assembly of imported vehicles and components.
President Ruto has linked the strategy to greater domestic processing and manufacturing.
“We will not prosper by exporting what we grow and mine, and importing what we use. Value must be added here. Skills must be built here. Jobs must be created here,” he said.
Kenya has already been pursuing policies aimed at lowering the cost of electric vehicle adoption. The government has announced that the first 100,000 electric vehicles imported into Kenya would be exempt from duty and has also moved to procure 3,000 electric vehicles for government security and administrative operations.
Building an Electric Mobility Ecosystem
The proposed investment combines vehicle manufacturing with charging infrastructure and digital fleet management, reflecting Kenya’s broader effort to develop an integrated electric mobility ecosystem.
The country’s electricity system also provides a potential domestic energy base for electric transport, with generation supported by geothermal, hydro, wind and solar resources.
The project comes as Kenya implements its National Electric Mobility Policy and Parliament considers the National Automotive Bill, while government agencies have been directed to support investment approvals, land requirements and infrastructure development.
Kenya has also been positioning electric mobility as part of a broader industrialisation strategy. President Ruto has previously highlighted the opportunity for African countries to capture more value from the energy-transition supply chain through activities including mineral processing, component manufacturing and electric vehicle production.
The proposed Endelevu project would therefore extend Kenya’s electric mobility ambitions from vehicle adoption toward domestic manufacturing and supporting infrastructure, although the scale of the planned investment remains subject to the completion of definitive agreements and subsequent project development.
