ROAM rolls out solar-powered electric motorcycle hubs for fast charging and battery rentals
ROAM – one of Kenya’s leading electric mobility companies – continues to expand its enterprise with new innovations to help electrify Africa’s roads and promote sustainability. Today, the company introduced the ROAM Hub – a multi-purpose electric motorcycle charging station that offers battery swaps, fast chargers, maintenance, and more.
ROAM is a Kenyan electric mobility company with Swedish roots that was founded in 2017 under its original monicker – Opibus. In a short period of time, we’ve watched the startup evolve into a genuine EV developer in Africa, signing deals with mobility juggernauts like Uber, and deploying all-electric transit buses to reduce air and noise pollution on busy streets in Kenya.
In addition to electric conversions of combustion vehicles used for mining and the all-electric buses, ROAM has been developing and deploying electric motorcycles – a huge mobility segment in Africa – for years now.
Last summer, we saw ROAM launch the production version of its Air electric motorcycle, complete with two swappable battery packs and DC fast charging capabilities. Its demand led the company to expand its production footprint to a new headquarters in Nairobi earlier this year, capable of producing 50,000 Air bikes annually.
To support the growing number of ROAM electric motorcycles hitting roads around Kenya, ROAM has begun deploying innovative new charging hubs positioned to help incentivize a huge industry in Kenya to go electric.
ROAM hubs to support electric motorcycle taxi charging
Today, the company announced it has opened Africa’s first ROAM Hub, beginning with an initial rollout of three sites across busy urban traffic areas in Kenya’s Nairobi county.
The hubs offer a relatively small footprint to serve Air electric motorcycle owners with their charging needs, whether it’s a fast charge or a battery rental swap. They are also partially powered using solar energy, adding further sustainability to the electric mobility company’s mission.
ROAM states that the hubs also allow for EVs from its partners (electric bicycles so far) to be serviced and recharged. In addition to the electric motorcycle charging capabilities, ROAM hubs are equipped with spare parts and operated by trained technicians who can aid in maintenance and repair more quickly. In addition to the charging and maintenance perks, electric motorcycle owners can also visit a local ROAM Hub to publicly access software updates.
This convenience and versatility was all taken into account when ROAM designed its new Hub, stating it was specifically targeted toward boda-boda operators – an abundant motorcycle taxi industry.
With so many boda-boda bikes on roads, noise and air pollution has become a serious issue in the area, and a huge factor in ROAM’s mission to help decarbonize the entire industry. By offering a more convenient and holistic charging experience, the company looks to attract more boda-boda drivers to switch to one of its electric motorcycles. ROAM’s energy & charging product manager Habib Lukaya elaborated:
At ROAM, we believe that simplifying the charging experience is essential to electric motorcycle adoption and customer satisfaction. We are confident that this hassle-free charging experience is what will eventually turn the boda-boda industry electric.
Looking ahead, ROAM told Electrek it will continue to add locations to its Hub network in the coming months and intends to have 15 Hubs in operation by the end of 2023. Check out the company’s latest video of the ROAM hub in action below.
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Tesla’s Q2 results are in, and they are way, way down from Q2 of 2024. At the same time, Nissan seems to be in serious trouble and the first-ever all-electric Dodge muscle car is getting recalled because its dumb engine noises are the wrong kind of dumb engine noises. All this and more on today’s deeply troubled episode of Quick Charge!
We’ve also got an awesome article from Micah Toll about a hitherto unexplored genre of electric lawn equipment, a $440 million mining equipment deal, and a list of incompetent, corrupt, and stupid politicians who voted away their constituents’ futures to line their pockets.
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OpenAI is distancing itself from Robinhood‘s latest crypto push after the trading platform began offering tokenized shares of OpenAI and SpaceX to users in Europe.
“These ‘OpenAI tokens’ are not OpenAI equity,” OpenAI wrote on X. “We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it.”
The company said that “any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval — we did not approve any transfer,” and warned users to “please be careful.”
Robinhood announced the launch Monday from Cannes, France, as part of a broader product showcase focused on tokenized equities, staking, and a new blockchain infrastructure play. The company’s stock surged above $100 to hit a new all-time high following the news.
“These tokens give retail investors indirect exposure to private markets, opening up access, and are enabled by Robinhood’s ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle,” a Robinhood spokesperson said in response to the OpenAI post.
Robinhood offered 5 euros worth of OpenAI and SpaceX tokens to eligible EU users who signed up to trade stock tokens by July 7. The assets are issued under the EU’s looser investor restrictions via Robinhood’s crypto platform.
“This is about expanding access,” said Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s SVP and GM of crypto. “The goal with tokenization is to let anyone participate in this economy.”
The episode highlights the dynamic between crypto platforms seeking to democratize access to financial products and the companies whose names and equity are being represented on-chain
U.S. users cannot access these tokens due to regulatory restrictions.
Despite the warnings, BYD continues introducing new discounts. On Wednesday, BYD’s luxury off-road brand began offering over 50% Huawei’s smart driving tech.
BYD introduces new discounts on smart driving tech
After BYD cut prices again in May, the China Automobile Manufacturers Association (CAMA) warned that the ultra-low prices are “triggering a new round of price war panic.”
Although they didn’t single out BYD, it was pretty obvious. BYD slashed prices across 22 of its vehicles by up to 34%, triggering several automakers to follow suit in China.
BYD’s cheapest EV, the Seagull, typically starts at about $10,000 (66,800 yuan). After the price cuts, the Seagull is listed at under $8,000 (55,800 yuan).
It doesn’t look like China’s EV leader plans to slow down anytime soon. Fang Cheng Bao, BYD’s luxury off-road brand, introduced new discounts on Huawei’s smart driving tech on Wednesday.
The limited-time offer cuts the price of Huawei’s Qiankun Intelligent Driving High-end Function Package to just 12,000 yuan ($1,700).
Buyers who order the smart driving tech in July will save over 50% compared to its typical price of 32,000 yuan ($4,500).
Earlier this year, Fang Chang Bao launched the Tai 3, its most affordable vehicle, starting at 139,800 yuan ($19,300). The Tai 3 is about the size of the Tesla Model Y, but costs about half as much.
The Tai 3 will spearhead a new sub-brand of electric SUVs following the more premium Bao 8 and Bao 5 hybrid SUVs.
BYD’s luxury off-road brand sold 18,903 vehicles last month, up 50% from May and 605% compared to last year. Fang Cheng Bao has now sold over 10,000 vehicles for three consecutive months.
The Chinese EV giant sold 382,585 vehicles in total in June, an increase of 12% from last year. In the first half of the year, BYD’s cumulative sales reached over 2.1 million, a YOY increase of 33%.
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