Ethiopia Finds Limited Success in Moving to Electric Vehicles
2024-11-18
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1As the price of fuel increased greatly in Ethiopia earlier this year, Awgachew Seleshi decided to buy an electric vehicle, or EV.
2The decision follows government efforts to slowly remove gas-powered vehicles from the roads.
3Months later, Seleshi is not sure whether it was the right decision.
4He now faces an uneven supply of electricity and a lack of parts for repair.
5He told the Associated Press that imported parts from China are costly and, "few mechanics are able to fix such cars and the resale value of such cars is poor."
6Seleshi's problems are like those of many in Ethiopia.
7In January, the East African country became the first in the world to ban imports of non-electric private vehicles.
8The decision eased pressure on the government's use of limited foreign currency to lower the cost of fuel.
9In early October, Ethiopia's government raised the price of fuel by up to 8 percent as part of a plan to slowly end fuel subsidies in Africa's second-most populous country.
10Officials say more than 100,000 electric cars are imported into the country each month.
11And the government hopes to increase that number by 2030.
12By that time, the country's new dam on the Nile River is expected to produce electricity at full power.
13Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said earlier this year that the Grand Renaissance Dam will start producing more than 5,000 megawatts of electric power within a year.
14Officials say such a production level would support the move to electric vehicles.
15For now, many in Addis Ababa, a city of more than 5 million people, think the country is not ready to provide enough charging stations and repair services.
16The few service station owners who can fix broken electric vehicles say they have too much work.
17And the EV owners say they are overcharged by repair shops because of a lack of competition.
18Many EVs are now parked, waiting for parts to come from China.
19Bareo Hassen Bareo is the transport minister.
20Bareo believes Ethiopia can be a model nation with a green economy, especially with the move toward electric vehicles.
21He said that the government will invest in public charging stations and has plans to manufacture EV batteries to reduce imports.
22Private efforts to manufacture EVs with South Korean carmaker Hyundai in Ethiopia, however, have collapsed over sourcing of materials.
23Samson Berhane, an economist based in Addis Ababa, said the sudden flood of EVs into the country makes it difficult for owners to find charging stations.
24But, he believes Ethiopia can provide enough electricity for EVs within the next 10 years while meeting its industrial goals.
25Some Ethiopians are already giving up on electric vehicles.
26Yared Alemayehu sold his Chinese-made EV at a loss and bought a used Toyota Corolla.
27He said the EV "frequently broke," and the repair shop "was overcharging."
28Taxi driver Dereje Hailu said he had high hopes for his Chinese-made EV earlier this year.
29But now, he says, "With such a car, I fear I might be stuck if I go far from Addis Ababa, where there are no charging stations,"
30I'm Jill Robbins.
1As the price of fuel increased greatly in Ethiopia earlier this year, Awgachew Seleshi decided to buy an electric vehicle, or EV. The decision follows government efforts to slowly remove gas-powered vehicles from the roads. 2Months later, Seleshi is not sure whether it was the right decision. He now faces an uneven supply of electricity and a lack of parts for repair. He told the Associated Press that imported parts from China are costly and, "few mechanics are able to fix such cars and the resale value of such cars is poor." 3Seleshi's problems are like those of many in Ethiopia. 4Ban on non-electric private vehicles 5In January, the East African country became the first in the world to ban imports of non-electric private vehicles. The decision eased pressure on the government's use of limited foreign currency to lower the cost of fuel. 6In early October, Ethiopia's government raised the price of fuel by up to 8 percent as part of a plan to slowly end fuel subsidies in Africa's second-most populous country. 7Officials say more than 100,000 electric cars are imported into the country each month. And the government hopes to increase that number by 2030. By that time, the country's new dam on the Nile River is expected to produce electricity at full power. 8Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said earlier this year that the Grand Renaissance Dam will start producing more than 5,000 megawatts of electric power within a year. Officials say such a production level would support the move to electric vehicles. 9Repair services 10For now, many in Addis Ababa, a city of more than 5 million people, think the country is not ready to provide enough charging stations and repair services. 11The few service station owners who can fix broken electric vehicles say they have too much work. And the EV owners say they are overcharged by repair shops because of a lack of competition. Many EVs are now parked, waiting for parts to come from China. 12Bareo Hassen Bareo is the transport minister. Bareo believes Ethiopia can be a model nation with a green economy, especially with the move toward electric vehicles. He said that the government will invest in public charging stations and has plans to manufacture EV batteries to reduce imports. Private efforts to manufacture EVs with South Korean carmaker Hyundai in Ethiopia, however, have collapsed over sourcing of materials. 13Charging stations 14Samson Berhane, an economist based in Addis Ababa, said the sudden flood of EVs into the country makes it difficult for owners to find charging stations. But, he believes Ethiopia can provide enough electricity for EVs within the next 10 years while meeting its industrial goals. 15Some Ethiopians are already giving up on electric vehicles. 16Yared Alemayehu sold his Chinese-made EV at a loss and bought a used Toyota Corolla. He said the EV "frequently broke," and the repair shop "was overcharging." 17Taxi driver Dereje Hailu said he had high hopes for his Chinese-made EV earlier this year. But now, he says, "With such a car, I fear I might be stuck if I go far from Addis Ababa, where there are no charging stations," 18I'm Jill Robbins. 19Samuel Getachew reported this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. 20______________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22mechanic - n. a person who repairs machines (such as car engines) and keeps them running properly 23currency - n. the money that a country uses; a specific kind of money 24subsidy - n. money that is paid usually by a government to keep the price of a product or service low or to help a business or organization to continue to function 25resale - n. the act of selling something that you have bought 26give up - phrasal verb. to stop having, doing, or using (something) 27stuck - adj. difficult or impossible to move from a position