Rideence To Start Local Assembly Of Electric Vehicles At AVA Plant In Mombasa, Kenya

Support CleanTechnica’s work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe.


Or support our Kickstarter campaign!

Rideence Africa Limited, a subsidiary of the Garden Real Group, is an integrated electric mobility solutions provider in Kenya. Rideence currently operates one of the largest electric ride-hailing fleet in Kenya. Rideence is also developing a nationwide charging network. The next big step as part of Rideence’s strategy is now moving into local vehicle assembly. The move will unlock tax incentives and other benefits, ultimately giving customers the best prices for their electric vehicles. 

Phase one will see 152 electric vehicles assembled in this month, as the project aims to catalyze over 3,000 jobs and build a local supply chain targeting 60% Kenyan content. Rideence Africa Limited, the electric vehicle company behind Kenya’s innovative lease-to-drive model in the ride-hailing sector, has a KSh 320 million ($2.5 million) partnership with the AVA (Associated Vehicle Assemblers) in Mombasa to assemble of electric vehicles (EVs). The initial assembly phase will  be assembled from Completely Knocked-Down (CKD) kits comprising 132 units of the popular Henrey taxi model and 20 additional Joylong electric highroof minibuses (matatus). AVA, a Simba Corp Venture, focuses on multi-brand vehicle assembly in East Africa. AVA currently  assembles 43% of all locally assembled vehicles in Kenya. 

Rideence says it is scaling up towards local manufacturing following the proven success of their leasing model, which has seen the company deploying over 180 fully-built EVs from China in the last three years, including 54 matatus and 128 taxis, creating one of East Africa’s largest electric ride-hailing fleets. Rideence’s driver-first model leases its flagship Henrey EVs to taxi drivers for KSh 2,400 per day. Drivers report spending about KSh 400 to charge for a 200km range, a fraction of the over KSh 2,000 required for petrol over the same distance.

“Having already invested over KES 1.4 billion in Kenya since 2023, Rideence is strategically transitioning from operator to local manufacturer,” said Minnan Yu, Managing Director of Rideence Africa Limited. “Our vision is to become a leading new energy mobility enterprise ‘Born in Kenya, Serving Africa’. Our partnership with AVA Factory will push local parts procurement to over 25% by 2026. We are moving beyond importing solutions to co-creating them locally, building an ecosystem that addresses Kenya’s specific challenges, from fuel price volatility to the need for skilled jobs.”  

Kenya, like a lot of countries on the African continent, has a rich history in vehicle assembly and associated component manufacturing ecosystem. This local assembly industry took a knock as a wave of imports of used vehicles from countries like Japan took over, spurred on by dwindling disposable incomes and limited vehicle financing options for high priced vehicles. The arrival of the age of the modern electric vehicle presents an opportunity for startups venturing into the emobility sector to collaborate with established vehicle assemblers to leverage their capacity and experience as the startups scale. 

Rideence says the Mombasa assembly project, leveraging AVA’s market-leading position in vehicle assembly, is projected to have a substantial employment multiplier effect. Rideence says the company has already created 550-680 direct jobs since 2023, and this new investment phase is expected to drive the creation of at least 3,000 additional direct and indirect jobs in supply chains, charging infrastructure and services. 

To build local capacity, the company is providing technical training at its service centers and is in advanced talks with the University of Nairobi to launch dedicated EV technology programs. A clear localization roadmap aims to source 15-25% of components locally in the short term, with a long-term vision of 40-60%. In a move to sustain this growth, Rideence is expanding Kenya’s charging infrastructure, planning to grow from the current 16 stations to 100 charging locations nationwide by the end of 2026.

AVA Managing Director Matt Lloyd said, “AVA is proud to partner with Rideence as we launch the first fully local assembly of electric vehicles, a milestone for the country. This partnership delivers Kenya’s first dedicated electric vehicle assembly line, demonstrating clearly that the country has the capacity and capability to assemble EVs locally at scale. Through local assembly, we are accelerating the transition to affordable, low-emission transport while creating jobs, enabling technology transfer, and strengthening Kenya’s industrial base for long-term economic growth.” 

I really like this approach. We saw BasiGo partnering with Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers in Thika to assemble electric buses in Kenya. Now Rideence has partnered with AVA. More of this please!