In East Africa, the vast majority of cars are imported from other countries. But a group of engineers in Kenya is working to change that by developing the country’s first-ever locally-assembled electric vehicle.
Hmm. It looks like all of their models share the same specs for the drivetrain: A 64 Ah battery with a nominal voltage of 72 volts. That’s 4,6 kWh. Achieving the promised 250 km range would require the consumption to be just 1,84 kWh /100 km.
Now, a light vehicle like these are can have a lot lower consumption than any electric car sold in a western market, but that still seems a bit optimistic if you ask me.
Any guesses as to where Kenyans can obtain a steady supply of cheap, high quality EVs?
Any guesses as to why Kenyans would want to make EVs themselves?
In the 1980s, the Kenyan government tried to launch its own locally made car brand called Nyayo, but it never went into production due to funding issues. Another homegrown company called Mobius Motors did successfully launch in the early aughts, but folded last year because it couldn’t compete with cheap imports.
Plenty of money in automotive construction, but it’s a cut throat market that requires a very friendly local government.
Idk if Kenyans really do want to localize production. Historically, they’ve been content to import.
