Fuel stations in Africa are not following the same path as their counterparts in Europe and Asia. Rather than focusing exclusively on high-power chargers for private cars, stations in Nairobi, Kigali, Cotonou, and Johannesburg are becoming service points for commercial motorcycles, three-wheelers, and minibuses, relying on battery swapping and local solar power to overcome electricity-grid constraints.
The shift is not simply about adding a charger to an existing station; it involves redefining the function of a commercial roadside location. A traditional fuel station may become a rapid battery depot, part of an independent energy network, or a charging point serving more than one type of vehicle at the same time.
Commercial Fleets Are Driving a Different Model
Commercial fleet operators are leading the transition to electric mobility in East and West Africa. Motorcycle drivers, locally known as “boda boda,” and three-wheeler operators work continuous operating cycles to generate revenue, so they cannot wait around 30 minutes to charge a battery through a conventional connection.
Battery swapping offers a more suitable operational solution for this use case. The driver enters the designated area, replaces the depleted battery with a charged one in less than two minutes, pays digitally through mobile-money platforms such as M-Pesa, and returns to the road. Fuel distribution companies, including Vivo Energy, which markets Shell fuel in Africa, and TotalEnergies, have opened their sites to clean-mobility companies such as Ampersand, Roam, and Spiro.
A multi-market study conducted by McKinsey and Company for the Shell Foundation indicates that electric motorcycles could account for more than 80% of electric-vehicle sales in key sub-Saharan African markets through 2040. The study also estimates a need for between $3.5 billion and $8.9 billion in financing to expand vehicle manufacturing, charging infrastructure, and asset financing.
Off-Grid Charging Is Not a Marginal Solution
Energy models have long assumed that transport electrification in Africa would wait for the modernization of centralized grids at enormous cost. However, a study led by researchers from ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute, in collaboration with Makerere University, the University of Port Harcourt, and Stellenbosch University, analyzed transport electrification in 52 African countries and more than 2,000 geographic locations.
The researchers concluded that electric vehicles relying directly on off-grid photovoltaic solar systems, with stationary storage batteries, could reach total cost parity with internal-combustion-engine vehicles before 2040 under certain conditions. Bessie Noll, the lead researcher in the Energy and Technology Policy Group at ETH Zurich, said that the feasibility of electric mobility has been technically demonstrated, while access to capital remains a critical factor, adding that lower financing costs could significantly accelerate the transition.
The idea is appearing in practice in South Africa, where Zero Carbon Charge is building a network of off-grid ultra-fast-charging sites along the N1, N2, and N3 routes. Each station operates as an independent microgrid relying on local solar panels and large storage batteries, with charging capacity of up to 300 kilowatts, according to the article.
What Is Changing in Practice in the Infrastructure?
African markets are moving toward multiple models rather than a unified infrastructure. In South Africa and Morocco, high-power charging corridors are being developed for four-wheeled vehicles. In Kenya and Rwanda, distributed battery-swapping networks are expanding to serve high-utilization commercial fleets.
In Kenya, Rubis Energy partnered with electric-bus manufacturer BasiGo to install direct-current charging equipment across a network of more than 300 stations. Rubis Sabaki station, located on the road between Nairobi and Mombasa, uses 100-kilowatt chargers with two connector standards to serve private cars, delivery trucks, and buses, with charging taking less than an hour, according to the source.
In North Africa, countries such as Morocco are working to connect corridor charging stations to large solar sources, including the Noor solar complex, with the aim of creating zero-emission road links between Tangier, Casablanca, and Marrakech.
The Gap That Has Not Yet Been Resolved
The feasibility of the new models does not mean that the infrastructure problem has ended. According to the United Nations Economic Report on Africa for 2026, fewer than 1,000 public charging stations serve a continental fleet of more than 400,000 electric vehicles across 26 countries. At the same time, the report expects the charging-infrastructure market to grow eightfold, from $31.93 million in 2022 to $256.53 million by 2030.
The editorial significance of these figures is that Africa is not necessarily waiting for centralized grids to be completed before electrifying transport, but it needs substantial financing and operating models suited to commercial vehicles. Battery swapping reduces downtime and may lower the upfront vehicle purchase cost, while solar power and storage provide greater independence from grid outages and electricity-price fluctuations. Nevertheless, the scale of expansion, the cost of capital, and the ability of station operators to generate sustainable revenue remain open questions that technology alone cannot resolve.