The global rush for hybrid and all-electric vehicles (EVs) has made its way to the world’s poorest continent — Africa. However, the story is different here. EVs are expensive for many Africans. The majority that are arriving on the continent are previously used: hand-me-downs from Europe, Asia, and the United States, says Zimbabwean trade economist Gift Mugano. And their failing parts and lithium-ion batteries are creating a pollution problem across much of Africa, environmental watchdogs say.
Most mechanics in South Africa are unaccustomed to repairing electric vehicles, so when EVs break down, they often suggest clients throw them away. The batteries and other unsalvagable parts end up in landfills. Photo by Vgrigas / Wikimedia.
“They are problematic when they break down,” says Anele Daxa, a mechanic in the South African capital of Pretoria. Most mechanics in South Africa, whether graduates from vocational schools or self-taught, are proficient only on gasoline vehicles, he says. Repairing modern EVs with their lithium-ion batteries is an unfamiliar trial-and-error endeavor. Many choose the easier method: suggesting clients throw away the cars, salvage reusable parts, and discard the batteries.
“They are vexing how to handle, or recycle; we have no manual,” adds Ebba Moloi, outreach manager of the Pretoria Municipal Workers Union in South Africa’s capital.
Duduzile Tholana, a mechanic at Masimbi, a mechanics yard in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare, echoes the same frustration. Most EVs shipped to Zimbabwe range in age from eight to 12 years, he says. And Zimbabwean mechanics struggle too with how to service the batteries and associated technologies inside electric cars, he says, including power inverters, charging ports, controllers, thermal management systems, and more. “We have a dozen customers we have asked to go to car breakers and salvage only the engine, and electric motors of their cars,” he says.
The batteries and other parts end up in landfills as local municipalities lack the basic infrastructure to recycle them, adding to cities’ urban waste.
“It’s a dilemma,” urban pollution expert and forester Shamiso Mupara says of electrifying transportation in Africa, a continent where gasoline vehicles still hold sway. Ahhuna Eziakonwa, the UNDP Africa regional director, speaking at the eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, emphasized that decarbonizing Africa’s energy and transportation systems would bring tremendous health, environmental, and development benefits.
Japan, the European Union, and the United States all export hundreds of thousands of used cars to Africa annually, many of them EVs. Photo via PickPik.
The top exporters of used vehicles to Africa include Japan, the European Union, and the United States. In 2023, Japan sent some 360,000 vehicles to Africa, while the EU shipped 1.4 million used light-duty vehicles, and the US reportedly sent 100,000 used cars to Ghana alone.
Among these shipments, thousands of cars were partially or fully electric, says Batsirai Chidzangwa, a commissioner of the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority. Twelve thousand electric vehicles came into Zimbabwe from abroad in the second half of 2023 alone, he says, citing the internal records of the state customs tax collection agency, which he heads.
Roughly 70 percent of foreign EVs coming into Zimbabwe are hybrid (with both battery-powered electric motors and gasoline engines), while the rest are fully electric, relying only on lithium-ion batteries, adds Chidzangwa. “Importers tell us that the hybrids are cheaper for local drivers,” he says.
Many are of the affordable Toyota Aqua, Honda Fit, or Chevrolet models that locals can reasonably pay for, Chidzangwa says. That’s because fully electric, premium-brand Teslas, Mercedes, and BMWs are beyond the means of many Africans.
Adding to the challenge is the fact that, when used cars arrive in African nations like Zimbabwe and are driven on poorly maintained and pothole-filled roads, their components quickly degrade. This leads to them being scrapped or dumped even more quickly.
Once discarded, EVs’ lithium-ion batteries are “a pollution nightmare” for municipalities and environmental managers, says Gifty Mawache, an independent geographer in Harare. All old, non-running cars, electric and gas-powered alike, can leave behind a “carcass” with many toxic parts including lead-acid batteries that power auxiliary functions. But EVs also contain lithium-ion batteries and related electronics that can represent an additional source of pollution. Experts say that improperly disposed of EV batteries can lead to fires, toxic chemical releases, and contamination of soil and water.
Some countries are trying to tackle the issue of used EV imports. South Africa has a law that restricts the importation of all kinds of used vehicles into its territory. And South Africans seeking to import vehicles of any kind must obtain tightly issued permits, restrictions aimed at protecting its domestic car manufacturing industry. However, dodgy operators are still finding loopholes. They ship used cars from Asia and Europe into the country, pretend to export them to neighboring Mozambique and Botswana, then smuggle them back into South Africa across its porous borders, says Athlenda Mathe, spokesperson for the South African Police Service.
Irvin Jim, leader of the South African Municipal Workers Union, criticized European, American, and Asian car exporters who profit by selling old EVs to Africa, a continent that is not yet well equipped to handle or repair them, all while claiming they are helping Africa decarbonize. “It’s hypocritical,” Jim says, noting that the practice also undermines the establishment of new factories that can assemble brand-new EVs on the African continent.
There is a better model for the likes of Germany and Japan to follow to help Africa decarbonize its transport and power systems, he says: “Investing in plants here to manufacture affordably priced EVs.”
Deogracias Kalima is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in Reuters and The New Arab. He covers the territories of Zimbabwe, Malawi, South Africa, and Mozambique.
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