Nopia Ride, First Electric Car Hits Kenyan Roads

EkoRent has officially commenced operations of Nopia Ride, the first ever electric car service in East Africa, which launched a pilot operation service early August 2018.

The first phase of the operation was to increase the number of vehicles by the end of the year in a move deemed at breaking the dependency on diesel and transport in the country.

According to Juha Suojanen, founder and chief executive of EkoRent, which premiered as an electric car rental app in Helsinki, Nairobi makes a perfect place due to its growth rate.

He noted that Nairobi is growing really fast and with massive transportation and perpetual traffic congestion alongside uncontrolled emissions, the city couldn’t be more perfect for Nopia Rides international expansion.

“The potential of growth in Finland is highly limited. We noticed a gap in bigger cities outside Europe and we also wanted the opportunity to do some good for the environment,” Suojanen said.

Shifting away from a transport service depending on fossil fuels and personal cars is mandatory, and Nopia Ride is helping do that. It combines both electric mobility and shared transport to decrease the number of vehicles on the road thereby relieving congestion and cutting back on emissions and energy use,” says Ariadne Baskin of the Electric Mobility Unit.

Read: Uber Introduces Bodaboda Service In Nairobi

EkoRent CEO claims that taxi drivers hate other taxi-hailing apps, because they make 12-hour work days. He states that Nopia Ride is unique and drivers will make about 30 to 50 percent more than what they earn using Taxify or Uber because they don’t pay for petrol.

“Passengers will enjoy low prices and drivers will make a worthy living out of our rides and this is why drivers are saying they want to get on board with Nopia Ride,” said Suojanen.

The company is currently building new charging stations and is aiming to have a total of 1,500 vehicles on the road by the end of 2021. Suojanaen is confident that if Nopia Ride is proved in the city, it will expand outside Nairobi and everywhere in Africa.

Meanwhile, the launching of Nopia Rides goes a long way in achieving the United Nations (UN) aim of encouraging investments in non-motorized transport and promoting the use of electric vehicles in Kenya and across the world. The efforts are focused on improving the quality of air and decrease the rates of road casualties globally.