Gov’t restructures e-mobility project for private sector takeover
Pauline Dikuelo | Tuesday November 4, 2025 11:17
Presenting the manufacturing sector strategic vision for National Development Plan 12 (NDP12) this week, the Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship, Tiroeaone Ntsima, said the implementation of the National E-Mobility (Electric Vehicle) Promotion Strategy of 2022, which covers electric vehicle assembly, retrofitting, skills development, and local value chain expansion, is ongoing.
“The project is being restructured for the private sector to take over and run with it,” said Ntsima, adding that the initiative requires “a feasible and coherent spatial fix” to ensure sustainability and efficiency. The electricity mobility programme was unveiled last year by the government, highlighting that it forms part of the national efforts to reduce carbon emissions, modernise public transportation and promote Botswana's shift towards cleaner energy in the transport sector.
This resulted in the launch of the country of the country's first assembled Electric Vehicle (EV) alongside plans to establish a dedicated EV assembly plant. The vehicles were procured by the Botswana Institute for Technology Research and Innovation (BITRI) in accordance with a Presidential Directive by the government of the time.
The electric SUVs produced under the project boast a 150-kilowatt motor, peak torque of 320 Newton meters, and a driving range of up to 520 kilometres on a full charge. The electric town buses can travel up to 250 kilometres before recharging. Notably, the SUVs can be fully recharged in just 20 minutes using fast-charging systems—a milestone demonstrating Botswana’s commitment to building a modern, efficient transport infrastructure.
Ntsima further noted that the growth of e-mobility is driving increased demand for copper and nickel, positioning Botswana to leverage its mineral wealth in the evolving green economy.
“For example, an electric vehicle contains about five times as much copper as an internal combustion engine vehicle,” he explained. “Our competitive advantage lies in the fact that we possess nearly all the required resources -copper, nickel, salt, and manganese. “We have established regional partnerships for the consolidation of mineral concentrates for local processing, and Selebi-Phikwe presents a strong value proposition for this effort.”
However, the minister said they have challenges in fragmented regulatory frameworks, limited domestic market size, competition from low-cost producers, Infrastructure and logistics constraints, skills gaps and productivity issues, access to finance, and high utility costs.
'We are going to address each of these systematically through our comprehensive ecosystem approach that coordinates government ministries, regulatory bodies, financial institutions, private sector, development partners, and academia,' he said.