Thika-based Kenya Vehicle Manufacturer Starts Assembling Africa’s Cheapest Car (Mobius)

Mobius, the car built to suit African road will soon hit the road as the start-up auto firm that promised to build it has started assembling at the Thika-based Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers.

The car, a brain child of computer engineer Joel Jackson and KVM has started the assembly of five units — supported by parts from Toyota — and plans to increase production to more than 500 units from mid-2014, Kenya’s Business Daily reported.

The car is designed specifically for off-roading in Africa and stripped of luxuries including air conditioning, power steering and many internal fixtures, targets small business owners in need of affordable transportation.

It is expected to cost $6,000 (Sh525,000).

 “We started assembly of Mobius two weeks ago. We are building five prototypes and the units under production will grow to more 500 cars next year depending on sales between now and December,” said Ralph Hruschka, the quality manager at KVM.

Currently, over 35 per cent of the vehicle’s cost is sourced domestically and Kenya-based automaker, Mobius Motors is looking to grow local content beyond 40 per cent.

Imports of vehicle parts is exempted from the 25 per cent tax levied on fully built units, helping dealers to churn out cars at reduced prices.

“The vision of Mobius is to build a more appropriate and affordable vehicle for transport businesses and in turn create a platform for mobility across Africa. Thus, from the ground up, we’ve designed a car optimised for rugged roads, with large versatile loading space, efficient fuel consumption and easy maintenance,” Jackson, Mobius founder and CEO, told Reuters recently.

The firm’s choice of Kenya is set to boost activities in the local assembly business which has been riding on tax exemptions.