The new assembly plant is designed to capitalize on Kenya’s favorable tax incentives for local assemblers, with the ultimate goal of making electric vehicles more affordable for the Kenyan “hustler” economy.
1. Slashing Prices by 25%
By assembling vehicles locally in Mombasa, Rideence Africa aims to reduce the retail price of Henrey EVs by as much as 25%.
Tax Incentives: Locally assembled EVs are exempt from the 35% import duty levied on fully-built units.
Operational Savings: For taxi drivers, the “lease-to-drive” model for the Henrey hatchback costs about KSh 2,400 per day, with charging costs as low as KSh 400 for a 200km range—significantly cheaper than the KSh 2,000+ required for petrol.
2. Production & Jobs
The plant is not a distant dream; it is already operational.
Immediate Output: The firm plans to assemble 152 vehicles by the end of February 2026 alone. This includes 132 Henrey electric taxis and 20 Joylong 16-seater electric vans.
Job Creation: While Rideence currently employs about 600 people, the new assembly phase is projected to create over 3,000 direct and indirect jobs across the supply chain and charging infrastructure.
Local Content: The company targets sourcing 25% of parts locally by the end of 2026, with a long-term goal of reaching 60%.
3. Expanding the Charging Grid
To support the influx of locally made EVs, Rideence is aggressively expanding its “fueling” network.
Network Growth: Plans are underway to increase the number of charging stations from the current 16 to 100 nationwide by December 2026.
Academic Partnership: The company is in talks with the University of Nairobi to develop specialized EV technology programs to train the next generation of Kenyan automotive engineers.
