Electric cars for Uber and Bolt in Kenya (2026): charging cost, duty and what to check

Electric cars are no longer a curiosity on Kenyan ride-hailing. Of an estimated 24,000 electric vehicles in Kenya, 5,808 run on Bolt — about one in four — and Bolt says EVs make up 11% of the cars on its platform. The appeal for an owner is simple: electricity bought on the right tariff costs far less per kilometre than petrol. The catches are the price of the car and where it charges.

Charging: the e-mobility tariff

Kenya Power sells electricity for EV charging on a dedicated e-mobility tariff: KSh 16 a unit (kWh) at peak and KSh 8 a unit off-peak, overnight from 11pm to 6am. In September 2026 EPRA removed the tariff's 15,000-unit monthly cap (Gazette Notice 15188), so charging stations and fleets can use it without limit. Customers have to be moved onto the tariff; a car charged on an ordinary domestic connection pays the ordinary rate.

What that means per kilometre — an example. A car that uses 15 kWh per 100 km (an assumption for illustration; check the figure for the model you are considering):

Even charged at peak, the electricity bill in this example is a fraction of the most frugal hybrid's petrol. The fuel cost calculator has the petrol side for every common car.

Duty: lower rates, high KRA prices

KRA charges fully electric cars 25% import duty and 10% excise, against 35% and 20–25% for a petrol or hybrid car. On KRA's own method, a new EV's taxes come to about 30% of its KRA retail price, against about 39% for a small petrol or hybrid car.

But KRA's retail prices for EVs are high: its July 2025 list values a BYD Dolphin at about KSh 9.8 million, so the duty on a new one is still around KSh 2.9 million. Look up any model in the import duty calculator before you plan an import.

The questions to settle before buying

• Where will it charge? At a station on the e-mobility tariff, or at home on a connection moved onto it? The tariff is the whole saving.
• Can it do a full shift? A full-time ride-hailing car can cover 150 km or more a day. Check the real range of the exact model and battery — and how long a top-up takes between trips.
• Battery health. On a used EV, the battery is the car. Ask for a battery health report.
• Repairs and parts. Find out who in your town services the model before you need them.
• Platform category. Bolt and Uber decide which models qualify for which categories — check in the driver app.
• Insurance. Get PSV quotes for the exact model — see PSV insurance.

Running the numbers on your car

A lower fuel bill only becomes profit if the car works every day it should. Gariboss shows each car's daily amount, paid or not, every evening — petrol, hybrid or electric.