Electric Mobility Firm Roam Steps up Motorcycle Assembly

The Swedish-Kenyan electric vehicle manufacturer Roam has expanded its facility off Mombasa Road in Nairobi, where it plans to eventually assemble up to 50,000 motorcycles annually.

The building doubles as the organization’s East African headquarters. The factory will produce its Roam Air electric motorcycles and also have a lab for battery research and development.

“The new premises have an annual production capacity of upwards of 50,000 motorcycles that will be reached in a couple of years and will enable the company to ramp up production of the Roam Air, the company’s electric motorcycle,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.

At retail, the Roam Air costs $1,500. (Sh204,120 at current exchange rates). The range (distance traveled) of its two batteries is 140 kilometers. The motorcycle can go at a top speed of 90 km/h.

Roam is one of the pioneers in the electric mobility market that is expected to take off as more nations impose regulations on or outright ban motorbikes and internal combustion engines to preserve the environment.
In preparation for eventual mass production, the business is also testing an electric bus called Roam Rapid in Nairobi.

As the government introduced financial incentives to promote domestic production, the assembly of electric motorcycles has grown more alluring.

Electric motorcycles made locally are exempt from excise taxes (Sh11,608 per unit). Moreover, a lower import tariff of 10% is applied to parts going to the assembly lines.

Petrol-powered bikes built locally are still more affordable, but the appeal of electric vehicles is reflected in their lower ongoing maintenance or ownership expenses.

According to a prior study funded by UKaid, riders of gasoline motorbikes make roughly $120 (Sh16,300) each month but might save 35 percent by switching to electric.

According to official statistics, the number of motorbikes in the nation increased from 1.308 million in 2017 to 2.258 million in 2021, a growth rate that averaged 11.54 percent annually during the preceding five years.

Motorcycles are well-liked because they are suitable for quick and effective transportation, especially in large cities and towns where traffic congestion is a problem.

They are also successful at traveling the final mile in both urban and rural regions.