Ethiopia became the first country in the world to implement a ban on all fossil fuel-powered vehicle imports — and has already jacked up its electric vehicle (EV) targets by 300%. The country’s parliament in January announced it was imposing a ban on all gas- and diesel-fuelled vehicles per the country's Ten Year Development Plan, effective immediately. Data from the World Bank shows that as of 2021, the most recent year available, only 54% of the population has access to electricity. ."A decision has been made, that automobiles cannot enter Ethiopia unless they are electric ones," Minister for Transport and Logistics Alemu Sime said at the time, without offering detailed specifics. It was unclear if the ban extends to used vehicles as well as new. “Electricity is produced in Ethiopia and the price of electricity is cheaper compared to fuel. Ethiopia is a supporter of green development and is a country that is working hard for it.”Sime addressed concerns over the lack of charging stations and said building EV infrastructure and improving gris stability are top priorities, including 2,226 new charging stations nation-wide, with 1,176 of those in the capital city Addis Ababa. The 10-year plan states the ambitious goal of reducing Ethiopia's carbon dioxide output from about 45 million tons to 30 million by 2030. Another government policy on its “long-term low emission and development strategy” has budgeted US$13.44 billion from now until 2050 for electric vehicles and buses, largely imported from China, and charging stations. It includes the procurement of 148,000 electric automobiles and 48,555 electric buses.However, Electrive earlier this month reported Ethiopia has already tripled its already ambitious procurement goals to a grand total of 439,000 electric vehicle imports. It is unclear whether the increased targets pertain to automobiles or both. To achieve these goals, the federal government has introduced multiple tax incentives, Minister of State for Transport and Logistics Bareo Hassen said, including the duty-free importing of parts for electric vehicles. People importing partially assembled electric vehicles to be completed in Ethiopia incur a 5% tax and fully assembled EVs 15%. New EV rates are “significantly lower compared to the tax on petrol-powered vehicles,” said Hassen. Electrive suggested Ethiopia's hydropower resources (water dams) can provide electricity to charge these vehicles and noted the majority of vehicles currently driven in the country are second-hand older models that exhaust higher pollution. According to HKTDC Research Ethiopia's transportation ministry will need to replace about two million gas and diesel vehicles. .Ethiopia has done an abrupt about-face when it comes to combustion engine vehicles. In 2023 the country spent US$6 billion on gas and diesel vehicle imports, Electrek reported. Despite Ethiopia's significant investment in combustion engine vehicles in 2023, the country has for the last few years moved more towards EV imports. The move away from gas- and diesel-powered vehicles is a trending one in line with World Economic Forum (WEF) “sustainability goals” and its Agenda 2030. Norway is hot on its heels with plans to enforce a ban in 2025, while Sweden, the Netherlands, Iceland, Greece, Slovenia and Singapore all have plans to phase out fossil fuel vehicles by 2030, per Statista. Already 80% of new cars sold in Norway are already EVs, per Oil Price.Canada, several US states, the European Union and Japan have targetted 2035 for the gas vehicle ban to go into effect, while New Zealand, Mexico and India are aiming for 2040. As countries around the world look toward moving exclusively to EV sales, China is ramping up its production, and has reportedly already made significant inroads in Ethiopia, CleanTechnica reported based on China’s March 2024 EV sales data.
