Africa’s electric vehicle (EV) market is growing rapidly and is expected to reach $4.2 billion by 2030, more than double the current amount, according to market research firm Mordor Intelligence. However, most EVs still rely on grid electricity, which often comes from a combination of renewable energy and fossil fuels.
Tunisian startup Bako Motors is capitalizing on the electric vehicle trend by harnessing one of Africa’s greatest natural resources: sunlight. The company’s small cars and cargo vans have solar panels installed on their roofs. Vehicles still have lithium batteries that can be plugged in and charged at home or on the go, but solar panels give you access to a free energy source and allow you to charge the batteries directly. The company has produced just 100 vehicles so far, but plans to expand next year and increase exports.
“Solar cells provide more than 50% of our needs,” says Bobaker Siala, founder and CEO of Bako Motors. “For example, a commercial B-van can use about 50 kilometers (31 miles) of free energy per day and 17,000 kilometers (10,563 miles) per year. That’s huge.”
Founded in 2021, the company started manufacturing three-wheeled cargo vehicles, but later moved to four-wheeled models. The B-Van can carry 400 kilograms (882 pounds) of cargo, has a range of 100 to 300 kilometers (62 to 186 miles), is designed for logistics and last-mile delivery, and is priced from 24,990 Tunisian dinars ($8,500).
The other is a small two-seater vehicle with a range of 70 to 120 kilometers (44 to 75 miles) and a top speed of 45 kilometers (27 miles) per hour. Tailored for daily city travel, prices start from 18,264 Tunisian dinars ($6,200).
Bako Motors Chief Operating Officer Khaled Habaib told CNN that the company is also designing a third model, the X-Van, that will seat two people and have more cargo space.
More than 40% of each vehicle’s components, including lithium iron phosphate batteries and steel, are sourced locally. This will help provide much-needed local jobs, Habaib added.
Globally, startups such as US-based Aptera Motors are developing cars equipped with solar panels. It has more extensive coverage and offers more coverage, but it’s also much more expensive, starting at around $30,000. Bako Motors aims to fill a gap in the African market while maintaining affordable prices.
While more established players in Africa’s traditional e-mobility market include BasiGo, which operates hundreds of e-buses in Kenya and Rwanda, and Spiro, one of the leading providers of electric bikes in seven African countries, Bako Motors is unique in its use of solar power.
“This is a very good concept because it helps extend the range of EVs,” says Bob Wesonga, administrator and researcher at think tank African E-Mobility Alliance. “One of the biggest deterrents to EV adoption is range anxiety. The battery itself can travel 250 kilometers (155 miles) on a full charge, but if we can tell them that they can get an additional 50 kilometers (31 miles) with solar power, that gives them the confidence to choose an EV.”
He added that e-mobility trends in Africa are local. “Different parts of Africa have different modes of transportation,” he says, citing the example of South Africa where four-wheeled cars are the norm, while Kenyans are dominated by motorbikes. This means there is room for more players in the market, especially where local manufacturing allows companies to address local infrastructure issues such as road quality with their designs. Local manufacturing not only allows “vehicles to meet the continent’s mobility needs” but also boosts the economy and creates jobs, he says.
Bako Motors is currently small, but recently started construction on a second, larger factory in Tunisia, scheduled to open at the end of 2026, with the aim of producing up to 8,000 vehicles a year for Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
“The addressable market in Africa is about 1 million units a year,” Ciara says. “We’re targeting probably 5 to 10 percent of this market.”
He added that the next five to 10 years will be the peak of the transition to electric mobility. “We must prepare for this transition (and) provide Africans with great products at affordable prices.”
