A new opportunity is opening for the delivery of vehicle components, solar installations and electric vehicles to Zimbabwe.Finance, economic development and investment promotion minister, Mthuli Ncube, included incentives for vehicle assembly and electric vehicles in his budget speech for 2025, which was presented in November.“The motor vehicle assembly subsector has been identified as a quick-win value chain, mindful of the potential to transform completely knocked down and semi knocked (SKD) down kits to completely built units on the local market,” he said.In support of local assembly, he has wholly suspended customs duty on SKD kits for two years, starting in January 2025.He has reduced the customs duty on imported electric motor vehicles (EVs) from 40% to 25%, with effect from January 1, 2025.Electric tractors are duty free.In order to further incentivise the use of EVs, Ncube has extended the rebate of duty on equipment used for setting up electrical vehicle solar-powered charging stations, which are imported by approved operators, from January 1, 2025.This is in support of the goal to achieve 33% market penetration of EVs by 2030. A subsidy of $335 million has been set aside to encourage the adoption of EVs. Of this, 40% is planned to be allocated to buses and three-wheelers, and 20% for two-wheelers, personal four-wheelers and taxi four-wheelers.Another objective is to create the volumes needed to establish a local EV manufacturing sector.Delivering the keynote address at a validation workshop for the Zimbabwean E-Mobility project, permanent secretary in the ministry of transport and infrastructural development, Joy Pedzisai Makumbe, said “to realise the full benefits of this pilot project, it is crucial to domesticate assembly and battery manufacturing within Zimbabwe.“This approach will not only foster job creation but also enhance the sustainability and economic viability of the entire initiative”. ER
