Electric Vehicle Revolution: Why EVs Are Not Gaining Traction in Developing Countries

April 26, 2022

As one of the efforts aimed at addressing climate change and global warming, many more people are embracing the electric vehicle revolution. Electric vehicles are recommended partly because of their ability to reduce greenhouse emissions.

In 2020, a total of 3.1 million electric vehicles were sold around the world. The number of sales more than doubled in 2021 to 6.6 million. China and the US accounted for 65% of global purchases, followed by Europe with 23%.

Global revenue is projected to reach US$388.90bn in 2022 and rise to US$846.70bn by 2027 while market unit sales are expected to reach 15,786.3K vehicles.

Meanwhile, developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Australia are struggling to embrace the EV revolution for certain reasons. For instance, the largest EV market in Africa, South Africa, has just 1,000 EVs out of over 12 million vehicles. Total unit sales are projected to reach 1,716 vehicles by 2027.

In India, less than 1% of cars are electric.

This article looks at the features of EVs that make it difficult for the EV revolution to penetrate markets in developing countries. It is observed that the very nature of EVs makes them less attractive to customers in these countries as they have peculiar infrastructural and economic deficits. Continuous improvement, affordable and stable electricity and turning to solar technology as an alternative means of charging the batteries are recommended.

Reasons for poor performance in developing countries

Affordability

Electric vehicles are more expensive than gasoline-powered vehicles. The average price of EVs is pegged at $55,600 (cheaper ones come with a low range) while that of gasoline-powered vehicles is $30,000.

Meanwhile, the average annual salary in a country like Nigeria is N2 million ($4800). For this reason, most Nigerians, like their counterparts in other developing countries, can only afford second-hand vehicles.

It is estimated that 40% of global exports of used vehicles end up in Africa and around 90% of vehicles in Kenya and Nigeria are second-hand.

Electricity

The use of EVs requires constant availability of electricity. Sadly, many developing countries are battling with frequent blackouts. There are inadequate megawatts for economic, industrial and domestic activities. In some of these countries, the national grids collapse. Introducing electric vehicles will overwhelm these infrastructures.

Again, despite the poor supply of electricity, citizens and businesses have to deal with outrageous charges. Therefore, using electric cars comes with huge operational costs.

Charging Stations and Time

Developing countries do not have adequate funds to speed up the infrastructural requirements of electric vehicles. The creation of charging stations across the country requires funds, in addition to the fact that it takes between 30 minutes to 8 hours to charge an electric vehicle, depending on the size of the battery and the speed of the charging point. This will further complicate the situation in many of these countries that need urgent solutions to time wasted in traffic.

Range Anxiety

Range anxiety is also a major concern, especially in countries that are experiencing various forms of security challenges. Range anxiety is a concern over the tendency of the driver to get stranded due to exhaustion of battery life. The earliest electric cars could travel for around 100 miles. Fortunately, more recent models can go as far as 500 miles and beyond, though they are more expensive.

Bottomline

Developing countries are resistant to the electric vehicle revolution because of the negative features of the invention. This is worsened by the peculiar infrastructural and economic challenges facing these countries.

Affordable and steady electricity, improvement on battery range and penetration of the global market with electric vehicles will gradually make them more appealing to these regions. Introducing solar technology as an alternative source of power to charge electric cars can fast-track the process.

Image source: Pixabay

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