What Would It Take To Bring Electric Cars To Ghana: A Thought Experiment

I don’t know about you but driving in a Accra is not very pleasant. Besides the awful traffic and the crazy, kamikaze drivers, and the pollution from fumes which spills out of vehicles like tap water. Frankly I wish we could fine people who have cars that do that.

But this is Ghana so I’m not getting my hopes up.

I’m a dreamer. I like to dream and think of ways to make things better. Ever since I laid my eyes on a Tesla Model S, I’ve been dreaming of owning one. My current dream car is a Tesla Model X. Combining my two favorite things, efficiency and technology, I would gladly give up one of my kidneys to own one. I still love cars like Lamborghinis, Mercedes and Ferraris but I would take Tesla car any day over the established brands.

So I’ve been thinking: If I ever did own a Tesla or an electric car, how would I drive it in Ghana?

That got me thinking. How hard would it be to drive an electric car in Ghana? Well, there’s some things that would need to be done before I even think of getting an electric car.

Groundwork

It seems that in Accra, everybody is building a Petrol station. Petrol stations are the new “Starbucks” in Accra. Some petrol stations are even built not too far from people’s homes. But ever since the June 3 flood disaster, a lot of people are cautious of petrol stations, especially when it rains.

So if I was going to bring in an electric vehicle to the shores of Ghana, I better find a way to charge it if I want to drive around the city.

The first thing to do would be to build a charging station where I could charge my electric vehicle. Tesla has built Supercharger Stations all throughout the United States. Some of these Tesla supercharging stations use solar panels to offset energy use and provide shade. That makes charging stations basically self efficient.

So the first thing in my journey to owning an electric car in Ghana: Build A Charging Station To Charge My Electric Car.

What’s the cost: $100,000 – $175,000.

Hefty investment? Yes. But unlike Tesla, maybe there would be some payment structure to make some revenue instead of the charging station being free.

OK. So we got our charging station which can use the grid and solar power. Assuming it’s one charging station, what about charging your electric car when you’re nowhere close to a station?

Charging At Home

What makes electric cars efficient is that you can charge them at home, just like you would normally charge your smartphone.

Ok, so I have my electric car at home. I need to install some stuff to make sure I power my electric car.

There is going to be some installations in my house to charge my electric vehicle. Looking at prices, it’s probably going to run me about $5000 to install everything.

Ok. So that’s more money gone. But it’s worth it.

Now I’m out about $100,000 – $180,000 just to make it possible to drive an electric vehicle. But now we have an electric car charging station.

If we get an established electric car workshop, we’ll be good.

Now for the real work: Purchasing an electric car

Choosing The Best Electric Car

Tesla Model S

The best electric car on the market is the Tesla Model S. Price sets you back about $85,000. If the cost of clearing the vehicle at the ports is averagely about the same price of the vehicle, you’re looking at paying an average amount of $170,000.

Nissan Leaf

It was there before Tesla was making waves with it’s vehicle. Nissan Leaf would cost you about $25,000.

Ford Focus Electric

Another option for an electric car, the Ford Focus is not bad and it’s a good electric car if the Model S can’t fit your budget. Price is about $35,000.

Those are just a couple of options for an electric car. There are a lot of upcoming electric vehicles which could definitely fit your budget.

Electric Cars In Ghana: Feasible?

So if we’re limiting our scope to Accra, how feasible would it be to bring electric cars to Ghana?

It’s looks really feasible but a lot of groundwork needs to be done and that requires a lot of money in the bank. We need to get land and then build the charging station. If that’s done, then you’ve done like 80% of the work. The remaining part is just shipping an electric vehicle to Ghana. Plus, you need to have a supplier of electric car parts or a really good electrician. Getting brake pads and the regular car parts shouldn’t be a problem.

So that’s that.

Electric cars are definitely the future.They’re easy to maintain and very fuel efficient. They’re a no brainer really. It’s just a matter of plugging in and charging when your car needs juice.

Imagine. Accra being free from cars spitting out plums of smoke and giving your lungs a beatdown.

Now, I have to look for money and investors to start building. Then I’ll start making plans to purchase a Tesla Model X vehicle.