Watu Credit Limited has announced a partnership with Battery-as-a-Service provider ARC Ride, bolstered by the incorporation of global auto parts Tier1 company Musashi Seimitsu Industry. The collaboration aims to manufacture 1,000 electric vehicles (EV) and establish over 300 battery swap stations in Nairobi by the end of 2024.
‘’For most of our riders who use their bikes for business, what they care about is being able to run a more efficient business by spending less on fuel and also having an EV that they can use without worrying that the battery will run dry in the middle of nowhere. We are helping ARC Ride set up more battery-swapping stations across Nairobi. Currently, ARC Ride has put up 76 battery-swapping stations across Nairobi and its environs, with a target of having at least 100 stations by the end of this year. This is central to making more and more boda boda riders make the switch to EVs’’ Eric Massawe,Kenya Country Manager at Watu.
The 76 swap sites are in various locations along Eastlands, Ngong Road, Githurai, Westlands, Kiambu Road, Kebete, Mombasa Road and Thika Super Highway.
ARC Ride, represented by George Songe, said: “We are expanding our network of automated swapping stations to ensure that electric boda customers can conveniently replace their batteries when the need arises. Customers can replace batteries in under a minute for as low as Ksh 350 per day.”