Rwanda Makes A Grand-Entry into the Electric-Motor Map
The strength of the electric grid in Kigali has seen Rwanda obtain rights to fully feature electric cars from Volkswagen. The rolling out of Volkswagen’s Rwandan version of the Golf Model, now dubbed as “e-Golf”, is part of a wider partnership between Volkswagen and Siemens, intended to test the viability of electric cars in Africa.
Rwanda’s suitability to host the pilot project is seen to have received anchorage from the vast and strong energy infrastructure that has the unmatched potential to support the construction of charging stations throughout its capital Kigali without disrupting businesses and residential establishments.
The confirmation of the release of Volkswagen’s plans in Rwanda was first made in February by Thomas Schaefer, the Chairperson and Managing Director of Volkswagen in South Africa. “We did a grid check-in Rwanda together with GRZ and Siemens last year and they are ready. They already get their electricity from 70 percent renewable energy and that will change to 100 percent in the next 10 years,” he said in a statement to the press.
The cars will have the ability to cover 142 miles (230 kilometers) when fully charged and at optimum conditions. The purchase of the cars has however not been made open to public consumers.
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