Roam has today declared the start of its upcoming-technology electrical motorcycle, the Roam Air. The Roam Air is designed equally for urban and rural environments. Several many years of research and months of progress were devoted to making the optimal electric bike for Africa.
Motorcycles are a definitely huge offer in Kenya and throughout the relaxation of East Africa. Motorcycle revenue in Kenya ended up up 15.6% in 2021. This follows an remarkable 17.4% in the lockdown-influenced 2020, in accordance to the most up-to-date Economic Study from the Kenya National Bureau of Figures (KNBS). Motorcycle registrations jumped from 246,705 models in 2020 to 285,203 models in 2021. The number of motorcycles registered in 2021 was far more than 1.5 times the amount of bikes registered in 2018! The outstanding progress around the past 6 yrs is demonstrated in the desk underneath:
Source: KNBS 2022 Economic Study
Estimates place the quantity of inner combustion engine bikes on the roads in East Africa at effectively more than 5 million. These bikes are significant contributors of CO2 emissions. Accelerating the adoption of electrical bikes in East Africa will go along way in cutting down these emissions. Kenya’s electrical power grid has an brilliant blend of renewables this sort of as geothermal, hydro, wind, and some utility scale photo voltaic. These renewables contributed about 90% of the electric power created in Kenya in 2021. Uganda, Ethiopia, and numerous other nations around the world also have fantastic contributions from renewables, consequently, electrical motorcycles launched in Kenya and the region will be billed from some very clean up energy. The electrical bike market in this location also has a ton of opportunity to make massive impact on the financial entrance by way of the reduction of fossil fuel imports resulting in overseas forex financial savings.
Roam, which is the leader in the regional electric powered bike sector, has now released the Roam Air with a powerful concentration on addressing the wants of bike riders and the nearby ailments. The motorbike has been intended to be a robust car with ideal in class carrying capacity, variety ,and leading speed to enable mass adoption of cleanse transportation throughout the continent with out the need for added infrastructure. This motorcycle is the initially fully adapted electrical motorcycle for the professional current market on the continent, although at the exact time almost achieving cost parity with neighborhood petrol bikes (priced at $1500) and with up to 70% decreased functioning cost, thus producing a new typical for transport on the African continent.
Based mostly on a new progressive frame, the bike residences a twin battery technique. The new configuration allows end users to get rid of the battery and plug it into any normal outlet at residence, just like your phone, or charge the battery in community charging and swapping stations. The frame is engineered to deal with all terrains, even though also accommodating for a storage compartment changing the gasoline tank, interchangeability with community spare sections, and amplified carrying capacity on the extended subframe. The interchangeability with regional spare elements is a essential characteristic that will allow for operators of these electric powered motorbike to find spare components simply as well as assist neighborhood downstream industries. The vehicle has been designed from analysis by Roam’s engineering staff in Nairobi.
“We are thrilled to announce the unveiling of the Roam Air, our up coming-era electrical motorcycle, tailored and made in depth for the African use-case and with particular aim on affordability, dependability and connectivity. An electric motorbike customized for distinctive business use-conditions these as carrying passengers or cargo with basic safety at the forefront. It is genuinely a testament to our dedication to giving earth-course electrical auto technological know-how to the continent.” – Filip Lövström, CEO and Co-Founder of Roam
In the coming months, Roam will be scaling up output in Nairobi to accommodate the massive purchaser desire in the region. With this product, Roam is targeting huge commercial bike distribution channels throughout Africa, this sort of as financiers for conclusion-customers, swapping station house owners, and significant business shoppers.
Here are the specs of the new Roam Air:
Roam Air Specs:
- Battery Potential: 2 x 3.24 kWh
- Variety (Twin Battery): 180km
- Nominal Electricity: 3000 W
- Top Speed: 90 km/h
- Payload: 220 kg
- Body weight (Single Battery): 135 kg
- Charging time: 4 h
Attributes:
- Removable twin battery resolution
- Driving modes: Eco, Normal, Electric power, Sports, Reverse
- Amplified carrying potential on subframe
- Condition-of-the-art software and onboard telemetry
- Storage compartment in tank
- Enhanced display consumer interface with much better visibility
- USB charging port
The Swedish-Kenyan technological know-how corporation was founded in 2017. It turned the 1st organization to supply domestically generated electric motorcycles and buses. Roam now has approximately 100 workers. Roam is today the major supplier of electric powered motor vehicles in Africa and was not long ago stated on TIME Magazine’s leading 100 most revolutionary companies.
All photographs courtesy of Roam


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