Kenya is committing $3 billion to electric mobility as President William Ruto seeks to turn the country from a major importer of vehicles and fuel into a manufacturing base capable of supplying markets across East Africa.

The size of the investment matters beyond Kenya’s auto industry. The country spends about $5 billion a year on petroleum imports, according to the Ministry of Roads and Transport, making the shift toward locally produced electric vehicles part of a broader effort to keep more transport and energy spending inside the economy.

Ruto announced the project Tuesday, Oct. 6, after the government signed a memorandum of understanding with Endelevu Enterprise Corporation and China’s Geely Auto Group. The plan combines vehicle manufacturing, charging infrastructure and digital fleet management in an attempt to build an electric-mobility industry at scale.

A factory strategy, not just EV sales

The centerpiece is a proposed assembly plant with capacity for 50,000 electric four-wheel vehicles a year. A separate facility would produce up to 100,000 electric two-wheelers and light mobility vehicles annually, giving Kenya production capacity across some of the fastest-growing segments of urban transport.

The infrastructure around those vehicles is equally ambitious. The project includes 1,000 solar-powered charging hubs and a digital platform capable of managing as many as 100,000 vehicles.

That gives Kenya a chance to capture economic activity beyond vehicle sales, from manufacturing and components to logistics, fleet operations and charging services.

Jobs could extend beyond the factories

The government expects the project to create about 2,000 direct jobs and more than 20,000 indirect jobs, particularly among suppliers, logistics companies and service providers.

It also estimates as many as 80,000 additional opportunities in fleet management, operations and other services linked to electric mobility.

The Geely partnership is expected to support technology and skills transfer as Kenya builds local expertise and develops an electric-vehicle supply chain. Ruto said the government expects technology and skills to be transferred rather than simply traded.

Kenya wants Africa as its market

Kenya’s bigger ambition is regional. Ruto said the country does not want to manufacture electric vehicles for only its domestic market but wants production to serve East Africa and the wider African market.

Vehicles meeting East African Community rules of origin could gain access to markets across the regional bloc, potentially giving Kenya a manufacturing advantage as demand for electric transport expands. The push comes as Kenya’s EV market itself accelerates. Registered electric vehicles climbed to 39,324 at the end of 2025, from only 1,378 in 2022.

The investment also fits Kenya’s National Electric Mobility Policy, launched in February 2026, which targets local manufacturing, charging infrastructure and skills development.

For Nairobi, the $3 billion bet is therefore about more than replacing petrol and diesel vehicles: it is an attempt to build an industry around the transition before the market becomes dominated by imports.