Uganda-based state-owned Kiira Motors has a massive plan to kickstart production of 5000 electric vehicles a year, including a small compact, an executive sedan, and city buses, by 2021.
The plant responsible for this mass manufacturing of Kiira Motors’ vehicles is located in Jinja, Rwanda, a town 9 km away from Uganda’s capital, Kampala.
The Ugandan EV startup, owned by the state of Uganda, is backed by Chinese manufacturer CHTC Motor company, a subsidiary of the state-owned Sinomach Automobile Co.
The main motive behind this collaboration is not only to create many employment opportunities within the country but also to contribute to anti-pollution measures that the Ugandan government recently announced. Air pollution has been a rising concern in the state of Uganda.
Kiira Motors’ origin story began 13 years ago when students from the faculty of Makerere University in Kampala actively participated in an initiative by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to manufacture a five-seat plug-in hybrid vehicle. Scientists and students at Makerere University emulated the project and developed the first two-seater electric car, now known as the Kiira EV.
This prototype’s name further inspired the name of a company, then in its embryonic stage, which later on built a three-seater electric vehicle. Ambition led them to develop an electric bus that caught the attention of the entire African continent. Its success enabled the Ugandan authorities to incorporate Kiira Motor Corp and to show the world how technologically advanced and innovative the people of Ugandan be.
Since Volkswagen has already started assembling electric vehicles in the neighboring state, Rwanda, Uganda does not want to fall behind. Consequently, Kiira Motors is planning to produce as many electric buses as possible to answer the need for public transportation in the country.
An interesting fact is that the Ugandan government will ensure that 90 percent of the components will be produced locally, ensuring to create of many much-needed employment opportunities. Nonetheless, as empowering as such an initiative might be, there is a need for advanced technology and state-of-the-art equipment in order to make electric batteries. Kiira Motors might need the help of foreign investments to develop its battery production.
However, windows, air filters, frames, and 12-volt batteries can be easily produced locally in Kiira’s Ugandan plants.
Let’s hope their innovative and locally-produced electric vehicles will effectively put the startup on the African Map.
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