Drive EV Gh opens first electric vehicles showroom at Burma Hills

By Kingsley Webora TANKEH

Drive EV Gh, an indigenous electric vehicle retailer, has opened its first electric vehicles showroom at Burma Hills in Accra.

The move aims to promote sustainable mobility in Ghana and mitigate the impact of climate change.

The Drive EV Gh showroom puts several electric and hybrid vehicles on display, ranging from US$21,000 to US$250,000, both at the showroom and on order. These include the EV industry’s big names – the sophisticated BYD Yangwang U8 SUV among others.

“We have been fortunate enough to work with a few finance companies who are willing to stand in and do high purchases for their customers. So they can buy cars at zero deposit and 15 percent interest for a period of five years, making it easier and more affordable for people.”

With a 5-year facility and a flexible payment plan for salaried workers banking with Ecobank Ghana and Fidelity Bank, one can drive a paid-off electric vehicle from Drive EV Gh on hire purchase.

At the opening,  the Chief Executive Officer-Drive EV Gh,  Ashie Galloway, said EVs offer a sustainable lifestyle, reduce cost and are the future.

He stressed that: “Ghanaians need to come to this green side of life, because there is only one world and we need to take care of it. Green mobility  protects the air, saves the planet and makes the world a better place for our children’s children.

“It’s not only about climate, it’s also about savings. The cost of using an electric vehicle is about 70 percent less than if you use a normal fuel car.”

He therefore emphasised Drive EV Gh’s commitment to supporting and charting a sustainable future for Ghana.  “When you drive around, you see a lot of EVs in town. A lot of people are interested in EVs. And that’s what we set out to do – push the adoption of EVs.”

As calls intensify for cutting down on carbon emissions by gradually phasing out fossil fuel cars and replacing them with the more sustainable and environmentally friendly option, EVs, the showroom’s opening signifies a major step toward drastically reducing carbon footprints in the Ghanaian environment.

X-Charge EV GH – Drive EV Gh’s sister company – provides a charging network for electric vehicles in Ghana, with about 5 charging points in Accra and some coming up on the Accra-Kumasi highway and in Kumasi.

Mr. Galloway, who doubles as CEO of X-Charge EV GH and Urban Plug Energy – a solar company, revealed that: “We signed a deal to put one on the Kumasi highway. We also have a deal to put one in Kumasi as well. So we’re growing gradually and we’re trying to put chargers all over the country.

“We are a 360 sustainability company working for the climate. We are doing it in mobility, we’re doing it with renewable energy – and we are also doing it with charging,” he added.

In other jurisdictions, governments offer discounts and other incentives for switching to EVs. For instance, the Chinese government directs EV purchase subsidies and trade-in subsidy programmes – offering up to            US$2,728 for consumers who trade in their old fossil fuel vehicles for new EVs; and the US government’s tax credit for purchasing electric vehicles is up to US$7,500 for new EVs and US$4,000 for used EVs.

However, the situation is different in Ghana as there are no spelled out incentives for consumers choosing personal EVs.

Government in 2024 waived import duties on electric vehicles designated for public transportation for an eight-year period – giving tax breaks for component manufacturers and financial incentives for charging infrastructure development.

Mr. Galloway is therefore urging government to come up with comprehensive tax incentives and support purchase plans to encourage the patronage of EVs in Ghana, which he said are “more affordable and sustainable in the long-term”.

“We are hoping and advocating that Ghana will follow suit, as it has been done in other countries. We have an advocacy group that is working with government to try and see what solutions we can come up with.