• May attract green-conscious tourists
• EV only status may attract ESG compliant tourism investment

Seychelles is an archipelago in Africa made up of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean. The country has a population of about 99,000 people and has the highest number of electric vehicles (EVs) per capita on the continent, with more than 500 EVs on the road.

This is especially impressive when compared to South Africa, which has a population of about 50 million people and only about 1,000 EVs. Seychelles has set a goal of 30% EVs for new private vehicle sales by 2030, but they could potentially aim even higher and try for 80% of new cars to be electric by 2030.

One reason Seychelles may be well-suited for EV adoption is their average daily driving distance, which is around 33 km per day for most car owners.

This means that EVs with a decent range, such as the Tata Tiago with a range of 250 kilometers or the more expensive version with a range of 315 kilometers, would be more than sufficient for the average daily driving needs.

Additionally, Seychelles already has a high motorization rate, with 176 vehicles per 1,000 people, and several EV dealerships have been active in the country for several years.

Tata, a company based in India, could potentially play a role in the EV adoption in Seychelles. Tata already has a presence in the country and operates a fleet of about 250 internal combustion engine (ICE) buses, most of which are made by Tata Motors.

Tata is currently ramping up production of its affordable passenger vehicle EVs in India, but exporting a small number of EVs to Seychelles, where annual car sales for new passenger cars are only about 2,000, would not significantly impact their ability to meet local demand.

Seychelles could potentially follow in the footsteps of Norway, which currently leads the world in terms of EV market share for new car sales. In November 2021, plug-in EVs took 89.3% share of the auto market in Norway.

EVs have become so popular in Norway that Tesla’s Model Y recently set a new sales record by selling over 16,700 vehicles in a single year, beating a record set by the Volkswagen Beetle in 1969.

Overall, Seychelles has the potential to become the “Norway of Africa” and lead the way in EV adoption on the continent.

With a population that is well-suited for EVs and a growing number of EV dealerships, the country has the necessary infrastructure and market demand to make a significant shift towards electric transportation.

With the right incentives and framework in place, Seychelles could make a smooth transition to EVs and serve as a model for other countries in Africa and beyond.

Malaysia should take a leaf out of the Seychelles’ EV playbook and turn tourist destination Langkawi into an EV only island.

Transportation needs in the island is very similar to that in the Seychelles with most tourist drivers clocking less than 50km in a day as they take their time exploring the island and its attractions.

By Making Langkawi and EV only island, it could serve as a catalyst for the rest of the country as the experience of driving EV at this tourism location can be a way of convincing Malaysians to make the switch.

As an added benefit, using EVs in Langkawi will reduce the cost of transporting petrol and diesel to the Island and enhance the island’s electricity supply infrastructure with solar and grid battery as well as beefing up connection to the mainland.

The exclusive use of EVs on the tourist destination could prove to be a big attraction for Europeans and it may even prove to be a magnet for green approved tourism investment from the continent as money is now looking for ESG related projects to shore up banks’ green credentials.