Kenya proposes 16 per cent VAT on imported EVs and batteries despite funding surge and policy pledges
By Eve
Kenya's Finance Bill 2026 would impose a 16 per cent value-added tax on imported electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and electric bicycles, reversing tax breaks that helped registered EVs climb from 796 in 2022 to 24,754 by end 2025. The proposal follows a national e-mobility policy launched months earlier with promises of expanded incentives, and comes as Kenya attracts hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital for electric mobility. The government projects annual EV sales could reach 70,000 by 2030, supported by battery-swapping networks and expanding charging infrastructure.
Why it matters
The tax reversal threatens Kenya's position as Africa's most funded electric mobility market and could undermine the business case for charging and battery-swap operators who have invested on the strength of earlier incentives. Procurement teams and charge-point operators planning East African rollouts face fresh uncertainty over the policy environment and total cost of ownership for fleet electrification.
Source
- Source
- weetracker.com
- Original title
- “Fresh Effort To Toll Kenya’s EV Sector Clashes With Funding Boom”
- Published
- 15 May 2026 (date approximate)
- Updated
- 18 July 2026
In this story
- Topic
- Policy & Market
- Place
- Kenya
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