Ghana Electrical Vehicle Sector
*This is the first of two market intelligence reports by Commercial Service Ghana on Ghana’s electrical vehicle (EV) market.
The EV market in Ghana is at a nascent stage. Although there has been some progress in recent years, the industry is still far from being fully developed. There are several initiatives underway, including the development of charging infrastructure and the introduction of electric vehicles into the Ghanaian market. There remain opportunities for first movers to form strategic supplier relationships with OEM autos assemblers and local manufacturers, lease EVs, supply parts and batteries, build out the EV charging infrastructure, and train technicians, in particular. Increased charging and servicing infrastructure, the high cost of electricity, public education about EVs, and financing to make EV adoption economically feasible are key to the sector’s near-term development.
Context for EV Adoption: There is a growing official and public recognition about the need to reduce CO2 emissions and role that traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles play in air pollution. In addition, the high gas and diesel costs during Ghana’s particularly acute inflation surge in 2022 increased public consideration of EVs as a fuel-efficient alternative. Ghana’s electricity access rate for households is more than 80%, making home charging a possibility. Ghana also has excess electricity generation capacity, although this is decreasing over time. High electricity costs in Ghana, which are set to increase by 30% in February 2023, present a fundamental cost-benefit challenge for consumers.
Status of Government policy: Ghana’s Automotive Policy has a strong focus on developing the domestic assembly and manufacturing industry for autos. Separately, in November 2022, the Ministry of Transport announced that it would begin stakeholder consultations on an Electric Vehicle Policy as part of Ghana’s broader strategy to reach net-zero emissions in the transportation sector. That strategy envisions that the main means for road transport would be electric vehicles, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles and hydrogen vehicles. The government projects that by 2040, a considerable number of gas and diesel filling stations would be repurposed to serve vehicles that use CNG, electricity, and hydrogen fuels. However, the government has yet to provide any substantial incentives to encourage the development of the sector.
Consumer Attitudes about EVs: As part of a recent academic study of public perceptions about EVs, Ghanaians expressed that the most important consideration when purchasing a vehicle was the availability of charging infrastructure and servicing shops for EV vehicles. The most important attribute of the vehicle itself, according to the survey, is driving range (although only around 6% of respondents travel more than 50 km daily). Another important factor for potential Ghanaian buyers for EVs is charging times of less than 30 minutes. Concern for the environment and air quality were relatively low in terms of the reasons to make an EV purchase. Consumers also seek evidence of reliability and performance.
Status of the Industry and Dealerships: OEMs in Ghana’s market such as Nissan, Volkswagen, Toyota, and Mahinda, are predominantly assembling and manufacturing ICE vehicles in Ghana at present. Hyundai is actively marketing its EV Kona model at dealerships, but it remains price prohibitive for most Ghanaians at more than $55,00 per vehicle. Several dealerships offer hybrid cars such as the Honda Civic Hybrid and Toyota Prius. The servicing of hybrid vehicles, even at major dealerships, however, remains limited.
In 2020, Kantanka, a Ghanaian automobile company, announced that it is developing an all-electric city vehicle that would be assembled in Ghana. Kantanka assembles cars from (Complete Knock Down) kits from China. Further, in March 2022, the German-Ghanaian startup Mana Mobility announced plans to design, engineer, and produce electric vehicles in Ghana in 2023.
Workforce Training: Beyond the capacities of technicians at the major dealerships, Ghana has a large informal sector of auto repair shops which repair and maintain the large number of used vehicles on Ghana’s roads. Many technicians in this informal sector would need to be trained specifically on how to service EVs. There have been some efforts to formalize the training and close the skills gap of these technicians and increase repair standards. Entities such as Toyota, the West African Vehicle Academy, and the Design and Technology Institute are involved in training efforts.
To learn more about the doing business in Ghana’s emerging EV market, contact Commercial Service Ghana at Office.Accra@trade.gov or +233(0)30-274-1870 and see our Country Commercial Guide to Ghana for broader context on doing business in Ghana and our market intelligence reports for ongoing updates on specific topics and industries.