08 Oct 2024

The country’s strategy to transform into a hub of manufacturing and assembling electric vehicles and their related components is taking shape, says President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi.

Speaking during the viewing of some electric vehicles assembled in Gaborone on Monday, President Masisi said Botswana’s nascent automobile industry had the potential to attract investors in the assembling and manufacturing of both conventional and electric vehicles.

President Masisi remarked on Botswana’s strategic positioning as a reliable supplier of vehicle parts and components to regional assembly plants. He described this development as a key example of  government’s commitment to e-mobility, stating that plan  was not  to reinvent the wheel,  but to play a significant role in the evolving e-mobility sector.

The project, he said, was not only for the benefit of the economy and the environment, but also to enhance other aspects of the knowledge-based economy that optimised the country’s natural endowments and resources.

He said the manganese that would be mined in Kanye could be used to manufacture electric vehicle batteries. Furthermore, he mentioned the discovery of a copper belt in Selebi Phikwe, indicating its relevance to the electric vehicle supply chain.

In an effort to expand the local e-mobility industry, President Masisi said Botswana was in discussions with neighbouring countries to develop additional value chains and inputs for electric mobility.

President Masisi laid out an ambitious vision of establishing a fully automated vehicle assembly plant to meet market demands through partnerships with the private sector, targeting both regional and international markets. He said locally assembled e-vehicles would be fully electronic and would be charged with household electricity.

He underscored the importance of creating competitive and cost-effective vehicles for the domestic market. “The bigger market will be households,” he said.

While addressing the complexity and costs involved with hybrid vehicles, President Masisi said the  market demands would dictate production needs.

Additionally, President Masisi said Botswana Institute for Technology Research and Innovation ( BITRI) was collaborating with Ali-boats to develop the first electric boat which would be showcased in Kasane.

For his part, BITRI chief executive officer, Mr Shedden Masupe said the project was made possible through government’s partnership with two Chinese companies for the production of electric vehicles and skills transfer. He said due diligence was carried out in identifying the two companies, and that they were renowned for manufacturing world-class electric vehicles.

Mr Masupe said an agreement had been reached with the companies to share their Intellectual Property (IP) rights.

He said despite the skills transfer that would occur when production started, there were already trained local personnel in the e-mobility technology and manufacturing space as well as in the retro-fitting department. ENDS