Brendan’s family had the honour of being the first to register an electric car in Zimbabwe. Now several other families have followed Brendan’s lead and ordered Nissan Leafs online from Japan and the UK. Africa is not traditionally a priority market for most OEMs, so EV fans in most parts of Africa import vehicles on their own. The majority of vehicles (ICE or EVs) imported into Africa are used vehicles from Japan, Europe, and the United States.
The Wright family’s Nissan Leaf came to the right place at the right time, as in late 2017, Zimbabwe started experiencing crippling petrol and diesel shortages. These shortages have been going on continuously since then, as Zimbabwe is struggling to raise foreign currency to import these fossil fuels. Filling up an ICE vehicle’s tank can be quite a challenge in Zimbabwe, and it could involve waiting in a queue at a petrol station for a day or two!
Brendan’s family had the honor of being the first to register an electric car in Zimbabwe. 35,000 km later, we caught up with Brendan Wright to find out what it’s like to live with an EV in Zimbabwe.