Sun Mobility to install 2500 battery swapping stations to cater for 160,000 electric vehicles in Africa by 2030

SUN Mobility the Asian electric vehicle energy services company specializing in battery swapping has entered the East African market.

This time, Nairobi usually regarded as the city under the sun has once again become the center of E energy as Sun Mobility an Indian Company opens the first Swap Battery technology shop in Kenya.

Sun Mobility in partnership with vivo energy launched an open architecture battery swapping ecosystem, a move that is aimed at promoting efficiency and time saving for the Kenyans electric motorcycles (boda-boda) and rickshaws (tuktuk) riders who mostly undergo long queues at charging stations.

The investments comes in at time when a section of Kenyan Legislators are Proposing that the Kenyan government to globally advertise and sell a 35​ percent stake in the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) to an experienced strategic partner by early 2028 a move that will make partial privatization of KenGen with the aim of lowering electricity cost.

According to Ajay Goel, SUN Mobility’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer for International Business he says that despite the diverse market system where companies and manufacturers had the challenge of establishing battery swapping stations near the consumers who mostly are usually riders.

Now the Sun Mobility CEO confirms that they are the problem solvers.

“By building an open architecture battery swapping ecosystem for multiple vehicle manufacturers and vehicle formats, we are giving riders greater choice, fleet operators more flexibility and financiers greater confidence that the vehicles they finance will remain supported by a reliable, independently operated battery-swapping network,” he said.

“For vehicle manufacturers and ecosystem partners, our platform offers a capital-efficient pathway to scale. Kenya is just the beginning of our long-term vision to build Africa’s largest universal battery swapping network for electric mobility.” stated Ajay Goel.

With rising fuel prices in Kenya, experts confirm that by 2030 many Kenyans will save up to 20​ percent on petrol vehicles per 100 kilometers, a move that critics confirm shall be a game changer.

Hans Paulsen, who is the Vivo Energy’s Vice President East and Southern Africa, confirms that the partnership reflects the company’s commitment to supporting Kenya’s evolving energy needs and expanding access to cleaner mobility solutions.

“SUN Mobility’s model aligns closely with how our Shell service station network operates today, serving multiple brands and vehicle categories,” Paulsen stated.

“Just as our stations serve vehicles across different brands and categories through a shared refueling network, SUN Mobility’s open-architecture battery swapping network can support multiple electric vehicle manufacturers and vehicle types through one common network. By deploying this technology at locations where riders already stop every day, we can make the transition to electric mobility more accessible, convenient and scalable across Africa ” Stated Han Paulsen.

However, according to the CEO Sun Mobility, over the next five years, the company plans to deploy more than 160,000 vehicles powered by over 2,500 battery swapping stations across Africa.

Kenya is the first step in a broader rollout with Vivo Energy, leveraging its pan-African retail network to transform fuel stations into multi-energy hubs accelerating scalable EV adoption across the continent.