Ethiopia Updates ICE Vehicle Import Ban To Include Imports of SKD & CKD Kits

‌2 days agoRemeredzai Joseph Kuhudzai

Ethiopia to implement a total ban on new registrations of all ICE vehicles. Will more countries elsewhere follow suit.

In an unprecedented move over a year ago, Ethiopia became effectively the first country in the world to ban the import of internal combustion engine vehicles. That ban was not some futuristic target for 2030 or 2035. It was an immediate ban on the import of ICE cars. Ethiopia’s motivation? A high fossil fuel import bill of over US$5 billion a year, taking a huge chunk of the country’s scarce foreign currency resources. Energy security and self-sufficiency were other major drivers. Ethiopia recently commissioned the first units from the 5,150 MW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The GERD will add another ~15,500 GWh of clean electricity to the country’s energy mix. This means Ethiopia now has some exceptionally good locally generated renewable energy that can be used to substitute a significant portion of that huge import bill.