• Ampersand, an electric vehicle (EV) startup, has announced the opening of a new, larger manufacturing facility in Nairobi, Kenya.

• The new factory covers 21,000 square metres and is said to be more than three times larger than its previous site of 6,500 square metres.

• The expansion, alongside deploying over 100 staff, will allow Ampersand to assemble up to 60 electric motorcycles per day, or 1,440 per month, and support its battery swap network.

The company stated that over 1,100 Ampersand e-motos are already in operation. Ampersand claims its heavy-duty commercial e-motos and battery fleet travel over 4.5 million kilometres per week between Kigali and Nairobi. Additionally, Ampersand aims to deploy 5 million electric motorcycles by 2033.

The firm believes the expansion is tripling its production capacity in Kenya, enabling it to meet the growing demand for electric motorcycles in the country.

Josh Whale, CEO of Ampersand, said the expansion is geared towards scale and impact. “With this expanded capacity, we’re in a stronger position to support the electrification of Africa’s commercial motorcycle transport and to scale Ampersand’s proven business model.”

While Ampersand expands its operations in Kenya, it is not the only electric vehicle operator in Kenya and East Africa.

In April 2024, BasiGo unveiled its electric bus production line in Kenya, the country’s first specialised assembly line for modern electric buses. BasiGo also plans to assemble 1,000 e-buses in Kenya for local operators over the next three years.

Also, M-KOPA and Bolt partnered to launch their electric motorcycle fleet in Kenya, aiming to introduce more than 5,000 new electric bikes (e-bikes) in the country over the next three years. It will allow new and existing drivers within the country to lease ROAM and Ampersand electric motorbikes at a discounted price.

In September 2024, Zeno raised $9.5 million in an oversubscribed seed round led by Lowercarbon Capital and Toyota Ventures, intending to accelerate its plans to introduce swappable battery technology across East Africa with the launch of its first electric motorbikes in early 2025.

Aside from investors, the government is also showing interest in the industry. Kenya’s government is strengthening its regulatory landscape to accommodate EVs, releasing a draft of its National E-mobility Policy in April 2024, which is expected to encourage local production and assembly of electric vehicles (EVs).