The factory, built by local entrepreneur Belayneh Kinde for over $52 million, boasts an annual production capacity of around 1,000 electric vehicles.

This development comes alongside Ethiopia’s ambitious plans to become a leader in green transportation within Africa.

The country’s 10-year Perspective Development Plan includes importing nearly 5,000 electric buses and over 148,000 electric cars.

To incentivize EV adoption, Ethiopia banned non-electric car imports last year and introduced tax breaks for electric vehicles.

However, challenges remain. An earlier attempt at an EV assembly plant with Hyundai in 2020 fell through due to foreign currency shortages.

Additionally, economic hardships have delayed completion of the Grand Renaissance Dam, a project crucial for bolstering the electricity grid needed to support a growing number of EVs.

Despite these hurdles, Ethiopia is pressing forward.

The Ministry of Transport recently announced the import of over 100,000 electric cars and the establishment of 60 charging stations in Addis Ababa, signifying progress towards a greener transportation future.