CAPE TOWN, January 20 (ANA) - Kenya this week launched the country's first all-electric bus that’s also the first-ever African-designed electric bus.
The bus was released by Opibus, a Swedish-Kenyan technology company that designs, develops and deploys electric vehicles tailored for the African continent, according to a report by Business Insider Africa.
We are proud to announce Kenya’s first-ever electric bus, completely designed and developed in Africa.
— Opibus (@Opibus1) January 19, 2022
Leveraging local manufacturers and global suppliers we have built a vehicle tailored for the African public transport sector.
More on the electric bus: https://t.co/Xlhjq1H0YE pic.twitter.com/0hG1RrImVk
According to a statement issued by Opibus this week, the launch of the country’s first bus is the first major step in the company's vision to provide a locally designed and developed electric bus that can be mass-produced for the pan-African market by the end of 2023.
“This is a step towards realising Opibus’s goal of electrifying Africa's public transport system, deploying products tailored for the local use case. The bus is designed and developed in-house with local engineering talent, while at the same time utilising local manufacturing partners,” it said.
According to the company, this bus will cost significantly less than importing fully built electric buses.
It also has superior performance compared with its diesel counterpart.
“With the installation of a powerful motor, the bus has maximum torque which improves performance while enabling the driver to accelerate more responsively. Additionally, since the electric bus does not have a combustion engine or manual gearboxes, there are no oil/filters/gaskets that need to be changed. This translates to an 80% reduction in maintenance expenses, compared to a diesel bus.”
Taking into account the electricity charges, which are also significantly lower than the ever-increasing diesel price, the total operating expenses are lowered by 50% and will revolutionise the public transport sector in Africa, it said.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher