Startup Atlas E-Mobility Group on Thursday announced plans to launch what it claims is Africa’s first designed and engineered EV.
Headquartered in London, but with development and production facilities in Morocco, Atlas aims to start producing vehicles in 2026, initially for Africa, Europe and the Middle East, with a wider release in 2027.
“We strongly feel that Africa is being neglected by companies in the EV transition,” Atlas co-founder and CEO Mohammed Yehya El Bakkali said in a statement. “Atlas will create vehicles that provide corporate, environmental and social value to Africa and beyond.”
Atlas E-Mobility Group CEO Mohammed Yehya El-Bakkali (left) and CTO Mohammed Hicham Senhaji Hannoun
Atlas plans to use the automaker’s existing platforms “to create superior-engineered, affordable all-electric vehicles inspired by Moroccan design and identity,” according to a company press release. It will be an Anglo-Moroccan endeavor, combining “Britain’s automotive industrialization expertise, disruptive Moroccan technology and proven manufacturing capabilities,” the release said.
Transport currently accounts for 10% of Africa’s greenhouse gas emissions, but is expected to grow as the vehicle population, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, doubles as a result of increased urbanization and rising incomes, according to McKinsey & Company analysis. Policymakers shouldn’t assume that many of those new vehicles will be EVs.
Given that 40 percent of all used vehicles exported globally end up in Africa, the continent risks becoming a dumping ground for used ICE vehicles while the rest of the world shifts to a future of electric transportation,” the report noted.
2014 Subaru Forester XT convoy on tour in South Africa
“Simply building an all-electric vehicle will not be enough,” Atlas co-founder and CTO Mohammed Hicham Senhaji said in a statement. That’s why Atlas doesn’t just want to manufacture EVs—we are determined to go further and be part of solutions that deliver sustainable economic and environmental benefits to Africa and beyond.
Such solutions might include the rapid deployment of renewable energy in Africa, where some of the dirtiest fuel is delivered for vehicles. Taking advantage of lax regulations, global traders have been importing fuel too dirty to sell elsewhere, a policy rejected by several African countries.
The environmental, as well as economic and geopolitical, benefits of reduced demand for oil have led other countries not normally known for auto manufacturing to pursue EVs. Saudi Arabia launched an EV brand with Foxconn last year, has invested in Lucid, and will be home to a future Lucid factory.
