5-year agreement targeting 200 vehicle conversions in first year and 1,600 over five years
Provides local sales, service, and maintenance, further boosting Tembo’s position in the East African market, a population exceeding 500 million people
AVA’s vehicle assembly facilities have the capacity to assemble 30,000 vehicles per annum
AVA currently assembles vehicles for leading OEMs including Toyota, Fuso, Proto, Hino, Mahindra, Scania, Tata, Volvo and Daewoo
Established in 1975, AVA is the only assembler in the region to have achieved IATF16949 Certification
LONDON, March 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VivoPower International PLC (Nasdaq: VVPR) ("VivoPower" or the "Company") announced today that its subsidiary, Tembo e-LV ("Tembo"), has signed a Definitive Heads of Agreement (“Agreement”) with Associated Vehicle Assemblers Ltd. (“AVA”), East Africa’s market leading vehicle assembler.
The Agreement covers Kenya, Tanzania and other East African nations. With a population exceeding 500 million people, East Africa is the largest sub-region in Africa and home to the United Nations headquarters for Africa.
Under the terms of the Agreement, AVA is empowered to both distribute and locally assemble Tembo’s 100% electric utility vehicle (EUV) solutions across East Africa for customers in the mining, agriculture, energy, safari, non-government organisation (NGO), defence and government sectors. Crucially, it provides customers and partners in the East African region with local maintenance and support capabilities. This Agreement augments a previous partnership agreement that Tembo signed with ETC Group in relation to Kenya specifically.
The Agreement reflects both companies’ commitment to supporting Kenya’s transition to sustainable transportation and creating value and jobs in local economies across East Africa.
“We are seeing an acceleration in demand for electric vehicles across East Africa, from both government and private sector companies,” stated Matt Lloyd, CEO of AVA. “Having conducted an expansive review of electric conversion companies, we selected Tembo based on their experience, their cultural adaptability as well as the fact they have the most competitively priced products and solutions which also meet our quality and safety standards. Our team is excited to welcome Tembo’s engineers to Kenya in April 2025 as we kickstart the first assemblies for the Kenya market.”
“With the new and reduced pricing for our next generation EUV25 electric conversion kits, we have seen a surge in interest from new and existing customers and partners. This is a direct consequence of Tembo’s strategy to diversify and strengthen its supply chain which has translated into a significant reduction in costs, without sacrificing on quality and safety,” commented Matthew Nestor, Tembo’s Head of Partnerships and Sales. We are delighted to have been selected to partner with AVA, who are the pre-eminent vehicle assembler in East Africa.”
Kevin Chin, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of VivoPower, stated, "We are honoured to be partnering with AVA. This is part of a considered and patient strategy we have been executing upon globally to identify and build partnerships with long established and credible leaders in their respective markets who are genuinely aligned in terms of values and like us, have a long term commitment to deliver electrification solutions and transformation to entire nations."
About VivoPower
Established in 2014 and listed on Nasdaq since 2016, VivoPower is an award-winning global sustainable energy solutions B Corporation company focussed on electric solutions for off-road and on-road customised and ruggedised fleet applications as well as ancillary financing, charging, battery and microgrids solutions. VivoPower’s core purpose is to provide its customers with turnkey decarbonisation solutions that enable them to move toward net-zero carbon status. VivoPower has operations and personnel covering Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Philippines, and the United Arab Emirates.
About Tembo
Tembo electric utility vehicles (EUVs) are a 100% electric solution for ruggedised and/or customised applications for fleet owners in the mining, agriculture, energy utilities, defence, police, construction, infrastructure, government, humanitarian, and game safari industries. Tembo provides safe, high-performance off-road and on-road electric utility vehicles. Its core purpose is to provide safe and reliable electrification solutions for utility vehicle fleet owners, helping to perpetuate useful life, reduce costs, maximise return on assets, meet ESG goals and seeks to further the circular economy. Tembo is a subsidiary of VivoPower, a Nasdaq-listed B Corporation.
About AVA
Associated Vehicle Assemblers Ltd. (AVA) is East Africa’s leading vehicle assembler, with decades of experience in producing high-quality vehicles tailored to meet the unique needs of the region. Based in Mombasa, AVA has established itself as a trusted partner for global automotive brands, providing state-of-the-art assembly services and technical expertise. AVA’s commitment to quality, innovation, and sustainability has made it a key player in Kenya’s automotive industry, driving economic growth and supporting the transition to more sustainable transport solutions. As a pioneer in the region, AVA continues to lead the way in assembling vehicles that meet the highest global standards while catering to local market demands.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication includes certain statements that may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the U.S. federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterisations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements may include, for example, statements about the achievement of performance hurdles, or the benefits of the events or transactions described in this communication and the expected returns therefrom. These statements are based on VivoPower’s management’s current expectations or beliefs and are subject to risk, uncertainty, and changes in circumstances. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein due to changes in economic, business, competitive and/or regulatory factors, and other risks and uncertainties affecting the operation of VivoPower’s business. These risks, uncertainties and contingencies include changes in business conditions, fluctuations in customer demand, changes in accounting interpretations, management of rapid growth, intensity of competition from other providers of products and services, changes in general economic conditions, geopolitical events and regulatory changes, and other factors set forth in VivoPower’s filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The information set forth herein should be read in light of such risks. VivoPower is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.
