Mozambique Agrees to a National Electric Mobility Strategy: 7 November 2019

In his opening remarks at the electric mobility dissemination workshop in Mozambique, the National Director of Hydrocarbons and Fuels Mr. Moises Paulino spoke of electric mobility goals as pertinent to the government’s 5-year programme to protect the environment and people. He said the government was supportive of the shift to electric mobility as that was the global trend pointing out that electric mobility in Mozambique stood a strong ground as over 94% of electricity in the country is generated from renewable energy sources – with the highest share being from Hydro.

The workshop was held on 7 November 2019 and was aimed at discussing a national draft electric mobility strategy developed by Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM) for the government. The workshop was organized by the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy in collaboration with the UNEP and was a follow up to the Global Fuel Economy Initiative activities in Mozambique that highlighted the need for policies and incentives to promote import of cleaner, low carbon vehicles, including electric vehicles. 

Participants included representatives from the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy (MIREME), Ministries of Transport and Communications (MTC), Economy and Finance (MEF), Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM), Electricity of Mozambique (EDM), Autogas, automotive industry, UNEP, the University of Nairobi among others. Participants noted the lack of electric mobility strategies in most developing countries particularly in Africa. This is despite such mobility offering sustainable solutions given Mozambique’s large share of electricity from renewable sources. Participants noted that Africa was ill prepared for an electric mobility transition, hence the importance of an electric mobility strategy to shape this future uptake of such mobility.  The meeting urged UNEP and partners to support development of such strategies in developing and transitional countries to support a structured shift to electric mobility in these countries.

In their analysis, the UEM found that the country was experiencing high vehicle growth despite the economic slowdown in 2017. Vehicle population grew by 832%(1990-2017), corresponding to an average annual growth rate of 37% between 1990 and 2012, and 51% between 2012 – 2017. About 40% of these cars were found in the Maputo Metropolitan Region. The study showed that Mozambique imported more used cars than new ones between 2013-2017, However, from 2015, the share of new cars to total imported cars increased from 29% to 41% in 2016 and fell to 38% in 2017. This was attributed to a recent change in government taxation that incentivized newer vehicles with vehicles more than 7 years paying higher taxes.  It was also noted that there were roughly 20,000 state-owned vehicles and their replacement to electric vehicles would make a huge impact in terms of emissions and public awareness.

The workshop recommended a transformation of state-owned and public transport vehicles to electric mobility starting with the Maputo Metropolitan Region. Participants proposed implementation of pilot electric mobility in Maputo as the city had already developed an integrated transport plan for CNG buses that could include electric mobility.  Other recommendations include the need for the country to prepare a legal framework for electric mobility that includes policies and strategies to govern introduction of such mobility; the need for fiscal measures to incentivize electric vehicles; establishment and/or capacity building of institutions that will regulate electric mobility; the inclusion of cities/local authorities in the electric mobility discussions as they offer first opportunity for mass uptake; support feasibility study to come up with more concrete actions to support electric mobility; and the need for public awareness on the benefits of electric mobility.  Finally, the formation of an inter-ministerial technical working group to engage with policy makers to promote the introduction of electric mobility in Mozambique was also proposed.