SUN Mobility has launched its open-architecture battery swapping ecosystem in Kenya in partnership with Vivo Energy, positioning the country as the starting point for a broader electric mobility rollout across Africa.
The network currently has 35 battery swapping stations operating across Nairobi and Mombasa, supporting electric motorcycles, scooters, passenger tuk-tuks and cargo three-wheelers from multiple vehicle manufacturers.
Unlike proprietary battery-swapping networks designed around individual vehicle brands, SUN Mobility’s open-architecture model is built to support multiple manufacturers and vehicle formats through a shared infrastructure. The approach is designed to give riders greater choice, provide fleet operators with more flexibility and reduce the need for manufacturers to build separate swapping networks.
SUN Mobility says the solution can deliver savings of 20 percent compared with petrol vehicles at 100 kilometres of daily use, increasing to 35 percent at 150 kilometres per day. The company sees the model as a way to help accelerate electric vehicle adoption amid rising fuel costs across Africa.
The Kenya rollout builds on SUN Mobility’s experience in India, where more than 125,000 vehicles operate across over 2,000 swapping stations in 25 cities, supported by more than 30 vehicle manufacturer partners.
The technology has been developed over nine years and is backed by more than 450 patents, design registrations and trademarks. Its ecosystem combines Smart Batteries, thermally controlled Quick Interchange Stations and a cloud-based Smart Network designed to manage assets, customer interactions and maintenance.
At the Kenya launch, SUN Mobility showcased compatible vehicles from more than 10 manufacturers, including Afrina Neopower, BGauss, Fika Mobility, Motovolt, Odysse, Piaggio, QJ-YY, Sprocomm, VMoto and Wylex.
The rollout is supported by an Africa-wide partnership with Vivo Energy, which plans to extend the battery swapping network to more than 4,200 Shell and Engen-branded service stations across 29 African countries.
By integrating battery swapping into locations where motorists and riders already stop, the partnership aims to transform fuel stations into multi-energy hubs and make electric mobility more accessible, convenient and scalable.
Over the next five years, SUN Mobility plans to deploy more than 160,000 vehicles powered by 2,500 battery swapping stations across Africa, with Kenya serving as the first phase of the wider expansion.
The company was founded by SUN Group and Maini Group in 2017 and has strategic and financial backing from companies including Bosch, Vitol, Indian Oil and Helios Climate. Through its Indofast Energy joint venture with Indian Oil, SUN Mobility operates more than 2,000 swapping stations across 25 Indian cities.
