Over a year ago, Ethiopia became effectively the first country in the world to ban the import of internal combustion engine vehicles. This was an immediate ban on the import of all ICE cars. The motivation wasn’t environmental, but economic: A high fossil fuel import bill of over US$5 billion a year, was taking a huge chunk of the country’s scarce foreign currency resources. Energy security and self-sufficiency were other major drivers.
Ethiopia’s ban covered fully built units and left out semi-knocked down (SKD) and completely knocked down (CKD) ICE vehicle kits. That meant companies importing SKD and CKD kits for local assembly could still do so.
This month, the Ethiopia’s Ministry of Industry updated the notice to include bans on Semi-knockdown (SKD) or completely knockdown (CKD) ICE powered automobiles, three wheeled vehicles and motorcycles. PSR
Source: Clean Technica: Read The Article
PSR Analysis. Ethiopia recently commissioned the first units from the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) which will generate a significant surplus of energy once completed, together with the removal of subsidies on fossil fuels. Ethiopia plans to introduce 15% VAT and 15% excise on fossil fuels. Almost by accident, Ethiopia has taken a huge step towards being the first ICE free country, but it should be noted trucks still are exempt. PSR
Guy Youngs is Forecast and Technology Adoption Lead at Power Systems Research
