Original title: China’s e-motorcycles go global in Africa, but the money is not as easy as it seems
Author: Mo Zhi
Source: Growth Factory
Cover image source | Pexels
Chinese two-wheeler makers are extending their going-global route into Africa.
In September this year, electric two-wheeler maker Yadea signed a strategic partnership with African e-mobility company Spiro, under which Yadea supplies electric two-wheelers with localized adaptation, while Spiro connects the vehicles into its battery-swapping network and operations system.
Back in June, Spiro closed a USD 270 million funding round, of which USD 55 million came from Zengtu Capital, an investor backed by Transsion Holdings — its first Chinese equity investment. It is a signal that Africa’s electric two-wheeler market is attracting more Chinese players.
In Africa, tens of millions of petrol motorcycles still handle daily transport needs such as carrying passengers and making deliveries, and electrification has opened a fresh market opportunity. But unlike China’s mature two-wheeler market, supporting facilities such as battery-swapping networks and purchase financing are still in their early stages.
Why are Chinese two-wheeler makers accelerating their Africa push at this moment? And how much commercial room can they capture in this market with their advantages in vehicle manufacturing and supply chains?
Riding Africa’s electrification wave, Chinese makers seek new growth
Yadea and Transsion chose Spiro first of all for the battery-swapping network it has already built.
According to Spiro’s official figures, it has deployed more than 135,000 electric motorcycles across 7 African countries, operates over 2,500 swapping stations, and processes nearly 100,000 swaps every day.
Spiro has already turned profitable in mature markets: daily energy revenue from its swapping business broke through USD 200,000, and it took less than 200 days to grow daily revenue from USD 100,000 to USD 200,000.
For Chinese companies looking to enter Africa, the vehicle scale and operating network Spiro already possesses can help lower the barrier to entry.
Yadea’s approach is vehicle supply plus cooperation with a local operator. Under the agreement, Yadea provides electric two-wheelers and related products, and the two sides jointly develop models suited to African road conditions. Leveraging the network Spiro has already built, Yadea has been able to enter multiple country markets quickly.
Transsion’s playbook covers both investment and its own operations. It took a stake in Spiro through Zengtu Capital and launched the Revoo e-motorcycle and TankVolt three-wheeler, already ranking among the leading e-mobility players in Africa.
There are plenty of similar combinations: Tailg has partnered with Ghana’s Kofa, and some Chinese makers with Kenya’s operator ARC Ride.
As this unfolds, the roles of Chinese companies and local operators have become clear: Chinese players handle vehicle manufacturing and supply chains, while local operators run swapping networks, user services and coordination of local resources.
The accelerated Africa push is also related to growth pressure in their home business.
Yadea’s domestic growth has slowed. In H1 2026, Yadea’s revenue fell 5% year over year, net profit dropped 27.2%, and domestic e-bike sales declined 37.8%. Yadea’s overseas revenue share is rising.
Transsion’s handset business faces similar pressure. In Q2 2026, Transsion shipped 8.3 million smartphones in Africa with a 47% market share, versus 51% in the same period a year earlier.
For both companies, expanding into e-mobility is about finding new growth. And the appeal of Africa’s electric two-wheeler market starts with the huge installed base of petrol motorcycles.
FIA Foundation data shows motorcycle ownership in sub-Saharan Africa grew from about 5 million in 2010 to 27 million in 2022, with roughly 80% used for carrying passengers or making deliveries.
Unlike China, where motorcycles are mainly for daily commuting, in many parts of Africa motorcycles are the tools riders live by. The vehicles run long hours every day, so fuel and maintenance costs directly affect riders’ income.
That also makes local users extremely sensitive to the operating costs of electric vehicles. Kenya’s e-mobility company Kiri EV estimates that a petrol motorcycle costs about 3 Kenyan shillings per kilometer to run, while an electric one costs less than 1 shilling.
Beyond running costs, some African countries are also pushing motorcycle electrification through policy.
For example, Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, has banned new registrations of petrol commercial motorcycles since 2025, while Kenya has cut the purchase cost of electric motorcycles through tax incentives.
A huge installed base, cost-sensitive commercial riders and policy tailwinds together shape the growth opportunity in Africa’s electric motorcycle market.
For Chinese companies, however, selling vehicles is only the first step. For electric vehicles to truly replace petrol motorcycles, a stable battery-swapping network and long-term operating capability are required — exactly the strengths of local operators such as Spiro.
After the swapping network spreads, local operations become the harder part
Growth in Africa’s electric motorcycle market depends heavily on the battery-swapping model.
According to World Bank data, about 560 million people in sub-Saharan Africa still lacked electricity access in 2024, and home charging conditions are limited in many areas. For riders who carry passengers or make deliveries, swapping is a more workable way to refuel.
The swapping model shortens refueling time and gives operators a chance to earn recurring revenue beyond vehicle sales. But whether this business can make money still hinges on several questions.
First, swapping itself is a capital-heavy business.
Building stations, stocking batteries and upgrading power infrastructure all require sustained investment, and the network must be built ahead of vehicle scale — otherwise riders cannot find stations and the fleet cannot operate normally.
Spiro’s expansion depends on external financing. In June 2026, the company raised USD 215 million and USD 55 million in separate equity rounds. According to African media reports, the capital mainly supports fleet and station expansion.
Beyond equity, Spiro is also using debt financing to support battery and swapping-facility construction, reducing its reliance on equity capital for expansion. After the money goes in, whether it earns enough returns still depends on vehicle utilization and station utilization.
For riders, swapping stations must be dense enough to guarantee daily operations. For operators, a station needs to serve enough vehicles every day to cover battery depreciation, site rent, electricity and maintenance costs.
This means a swapping network can hardly turn profitable on scattered vehicles and stations; it needs to build vehicle scale and station density within a region at the same time.
Spiro has already reached scale in some East African markets, but when it enters new countries and cities, it has to rebuild networks and acquire users. Whether the operating experience from existing markets can be replicated remains to be verified.
Second, the local supply chain is still immature, which also adds to operating costs.
Although a batch of electric motorcycle assembly plants has emerged in Africa, key components such as batteries and cells still rely mainly on imports.
Spiro currently runs assembly plants in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, with CKD kits sourced mainly from China. Under its procurement plan, it will buy about 350,000 kits from China in 2026.
Spiro has said it will move most parts production to Africa by 2027. But truly building a local supply chain still requires supporting manufacturing capability and sustained industrial investment.
Until then, parts procurement, cross-border transport and exchange-rate fluctuations will all affect the cost of vehicles and batteries. Batteries in particular need continuous renewal and replenishment, and import dependence means operators must carry these risks over the long term.
For Chinese companies that want to go deeper into the African market, the more complex challenge comes from local operations.
At present, Chinese companies mainly play the role of vehicle and parts suppliers in Africa’s electric two-wheeler industry chain, while swapping networks, user operations and financial services are mostly handled by local companies.
This division of labor helps Chinese companies enter the market quickly, but it also means they can hardly reach end users directly. If they want to extend from vehicle sales into swapping operations and services, they need to rebuild local operating capabilities.
One problem that cannot be avoided is purchase financing.
Local riders rarely pay for a vehicle in full at once; most rely on digital loans, applying and repaying through mobile tools such as M-Pesa, at non-trivial interest rates. Kenya’s Watu Credit, for instance, provides motorcycle installment financing.
In addition, road conditions, purchasing power and regulatory policies differ markedly across African countries; even a business that works in one country may not be directly copied to other markets.
For Chinese companies such as Yadea and Transsion, partnering with local operators allows faster entry into the African market. But as business scale grows, whether they can earn more recurring revenue beyond vehicle sales will depend on how deeply they operate in local markets.
