The First Country to Ban The Sale of New Fossil Fuel Cars

Ethiopia makes history by becoming the first country to ban the sale and import of new internal combustion-powered vehicles.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, at night.

Interestingly, whilst there were certainly environmental considerations involved, the deciding factors were economical, rather than ecological. That is because Ethiopia had been importing massive amounts of refined petroleum imports - $4 billion on refined fuel imports alone - making petroleum one of the country’s largest import expenses and a major drain on its scarce foreign exchange budget. That was in 2023. So, in 2024, Ethiopia took drastic action and implemented its ban on the sale and import of new gas-guzzling cars, whilst also slashing tariffs on their electric equivalents.

By pivoting to electric vehicles, Ethiopia has been able to assert its energy independence by creating its own clean fuel - electricity from hydropower. “For the government (of Ethiopia), the growth in EV sales is a vindication of its import policy, which in turn has been made possible by its investments in electricity infrastructure,” reports Bloomberg. The country now has excess generation capacity, which it sells to neighbouring countries like Kenya and Tanzania.

As you can imagine, reports electrek, the rest of the world’s governments and transportation analysts are keenly aware of Ethiopia’s electric experiment - and many have expressed surprise at how well the African nation, which didn’t have much charging infrastructure to speak of when the ban was enacted, has handled the transition.

“The Ethiopia story is fascinating,” explains Colin McKerracher, an analyst and head of clean transport at BloombergNEF. “What you’re seeing in places that don’t make a lot of vehicles of any type, they’re saying, ‘Well, look, if I’m going to import the cars anyway, then I’d rather import less oil. We may as well import the one that cleans up local air quality and is cheaper to buy.'”

Better yet, EV owners spend about $4 per month on charging, compared to an average $27 per month for gasoline - a massive difference in a country where the average monthly income is about $50. Currently, around 10 percent of the vehicles on Ethiopia's roads are EVs, but that is expected to rise rapidly in the coming years.