Kigali, 29 October 2019: The Right Honorable Prime Minister of Rwanda, Dr Ngirente Edouard launched the e-Golf, the first Volkswagen Electric vehicle in Rwanda and on the whole African Continent.

The event that took place at the Kigali Convention Centre was also attended by the Chairman and Managing Director of Volkswagen Africa and the Chief Executive Officer of Siemens South and Eastern Africa.

Speaking during the launch of Electric vehicles, Right Honorable Prime Minister pointed out that the introduction of environmentally friendly transport services will accelerate the reduction of air pollution levels.

“E-mobility presents great opportunities to substitute expensive fuel imports with electricity generated in the country.” The Prime Minister said. “In 2018, fuel products were the largest single import product category into Rwanda, accounting for 12% of all imported goods”, he added

Dr Ngirente Edouard said that there is an interest among Rwandans to prioritize environmental protection.

“Rwandans are becoming increasingly aware that protecting the environment is a top priority. We are confident that the introduction of environmentally friendly transport services will accelerate the reduction of air pollution levels,” He said.

Dr Ngirente Edouard said “Volkswagen Rwanda’s investment is contributing to the creation of jobs especially among youth since operations started in June 2018. This complements Rwanda’s target to create at least 1.5 million decent and productive jobs by 2024. The private sector is central.”

The Prime Minister commended Volkswagen Business model in Rwanda that promotes services through VW Move and the plan to roll out in other countries on the continent. 

Dr Ngirente Edouard reminded that this effort is in line with the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1 2017-2024) where Rwanda prioritizes development of a climate resilient low carbon economy. This includes building smart green cities, smart transport facilities and services as well as the use of ICT and digital solutions for improved service delivery, Prime Minister noted.

Thomas Schäfer the Chief Executive Officer of Volkswagen Group South Africa said that Kigali is ideal for the project as it has the fundamentals that the company was looking for, adding that the results from the study will inform the next phase of the project.

“Rwanda has a young and progressive population that appreciates individual and modern mobility. Together with our development partner Siemens and with the support from the Government of Rwanda, Volkswagen wants to make the e-Golf pilot project in Rwanda a blueprint for electric mobility in Africa,” He said.

Sabine Dall’Omo, Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Southern and Eastern Africa said that the innovation is also set to prepare stakeholders to changes in car ownership and preference trends whereby the youth have less demand on car ownership.

Michaella Rugwizangoga, the Chief Executive Officer of Volkswagen’s operations in Rwanda said that the firm is currently training drivers and technicians on the driving and maintenance of the electric cars.

Launched in 2018, the Volkswagen Mobility Solutions Rwanda offers transport services such as ride-hailing and corporate car sharing.

The services are offered on the Move App, which currently has about 27,000 registered users, with over 59,500 rides completed in the ride-hailing service, since the beginning of this year.