Finance Bill: E-mobility, local phones makers face setbacks

The government had last year removed certain taxes on fully electric vehicles, a move players said had seen Kenyans' interest in transitioning to EVs grow and even resulted in increased demand for this cadre of vehicles, noting the country stands to make huge savings on money spent in importing petroleum products. The industry has been further pushing for more tax incentives but Treasury has instead proposed a tax hike.

"The incentives for the e-mobility sector had been introduced in 2023 to incentivize green energy use in the transport sector. There has been increased uptake of electric buses and electric bicycles in Kenya with numerous start-ups setting up in Kenya," said Law Bowmans in an analysis of the Finance Bill.