China’s Growing Grip On Africa’s EV Fast Lane

China’s Growing Grip On Africa’s EV Fast Lane

From Next Africa by Bloomberg

April 30, 2026 · 18 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the rapid growth of electric vehicle adoption in Africa, particularly in Ethiopia, and the influence of Chinese automakers in the market.

In Ethiopia, the share of electric vehicles on the road has jumped to 6% from just 1% after a 2024 ban on new gasoline-car imports.  Across Africa, EV adoption is now among the fastest-growing globally — with Chinese automakers capturing the lion’s share of the market. On today’s episode, Bloomberg’s Fasika Tadesse joins Jennifer Zabasajja to unpack what this surge looks like on the ground in Addis Ababa, while Asia transport reporter Linda Lew explains why companies like BYD are targeting African markets. For more stories from the region, subscribe to the Next Africa newsletter  here See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Host: Jennifer Zabasajja

Guest: Fasika Tadesse

Topics covered

  • electric vehicles
  • China
  • Africa
  • automotive market
  • EV adoption
  • transportation

Keywords

  • electric vehicles
  • Ethiopia
  • China
  • BYD
  • automakers
  • EV market
  • Addis Ababa
  • transportation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BYD

Places: Ethiopia, Addis Ababa

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