Volkswagen (VW) and Siemens have launched Africa’s first-ever electric mobility pilot project in Rwanda.
The pilot project, which will form part of VW’s operations in Rwanda, was officially announced by Thomas Schäfer, CEO of Volkswagen Group South Africa and responsible for the sub-Sahara Africa region, in the presence of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Rwanda, Edouard Ngirente.
During the pilot phase, four e-Golfs and one charging station will be introduced in the capital of Rwanda, Kigali. Siemens will provide the charging infrastructure for the electric cars.
With the launch of the pilot project, Rwanda becomes the first African country to introduce a VW EV.
VW’s Schäfer said: “The success of our mobility solutions business has shown us that Rwanda has the potential to leapfrog the internal combustion engines into electric cars.
“Rwanda has a young and progressive population that appreciates individual and modern mobility. Together with Siemens and with the support from the government of Rwanda, Volkswagen wants to make the e-Golf pilot project in Rwanda a blueprint for electric mobility in Africa.”
The pilot e-Golfs will be added into the Volkswagen Mobility Solutions Rwanda fleet to provide a customised mobility service.
The plan is to increase the number of the electric cars to 50 units and 15 charging stations, depending on the outcomes of the pilot project.
The drivers and technicians who will be working with the electric cars have received specialised training in preparation for launch of the pilot project.
The electric mobility project is part of the Moving Rwanda initiative, a cooperation between VW, Siemens, SAP and Inros Lackner and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
Moving Rwanda was established as the result of VW’s initial investment in Rwanda, which saw the launch of Africa’s first Integrated Mobility Solutions business in June 2018.
Volkswagen Mobility Solutions Rwanda offers mobility solutions services such as ride-hailing and corporate car sharing. The services are offered on the Move App, an IT mobility solution developed by local IT start-up company, Awesomity Lab.
The services are offered using a fleet of vehicles assembled at Volkswagen Rwanda’s assembly facility in Kigali. By the end of 2019, Volkswagen Mobility Solutions Rwanda will have a fleet of more than 200 vehicles consisting of the German carmaker’s Polo, Amarok, Teramont and Passat models.
The Move App has about 27,000 registered users. Over 59,500 rides have been completed since the beginning of 2019.
