Towards zero vehicle emissions in Africa: A case study of Ghana

This paper reviews vehicle standards in Ghana and other parts of Africa. The paper also considers the cost of ownership of electric vehicles in Ghana. Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model S, Nissan Leaf and Toyota Prius are compared to Toyota Corolla. The parameters considered are initial cost, maintenance cost (spare parts and labour), fuel cost, and availability of skilled labour. Considering Ghana's energy mix, a conventional vehicle will emit 3.35 times more CO2 emissions compared with an electric vehicle. The results show that while there are 30% savings on cost per mile for Toyota Prius it cost at least 13.5% more to own an electric vehicle compared to Toyota Corolla. The Ghana government's tax incentive for removing import levy will only reduce the cost per mile by 2.5%. Ghana's energy surplus of 98.59 GWh is enough to charge at least 1.5 million electric vehicles. But a huge skills gap in electric vehicle maintenance, non-availability of spare parts, charging infrastructure and the initial price of electric cars are the main challenges to overcome to boost electric vehicle penetration in Ghana and other countries in Africa.