Electric cars will reduce expensive fuel imports in Rwanda - PM Ngirente says

Rwanda has become the first African country to introduce the Volkswagen Brand electric car, whose pilot project phase was officially launched today.

At the official launch of the Volkswagen and Siemens joint electric mobility pilot project, Prime Minister Dr. Edouard NGIRENTE said that the project is in line with the country’s National strategy for transformation.

The Prime Minister said that the introduction of the electric cars will help cut down on expensive fuel imports in the country.

CEO of the Volkswagen Group South Africa as well as the Sub-Sahara Africa region, THOMAS SCHAFER said that Kigali is ideal for the project as it has the fundamentals that the company was looking for, adding that the results from the study will inform the next phase of the project.

Launched in 2018, the Volkswagen Mobility Solutions Rwanda offers transport services such as Ride-Hailing and corporate car sharing.

The services are offered on the Move App, which currently has about 27,000 registered users, with over 59,500 rides completed in the ride-hailing service, since the beginning of this year.