With the shift of the automotive industry towards climate-friendly solutions, electric vehicles have been taking center stage and Kiira Motors Corporation (KMC), a state enterprise for automotive manufacturing, was spawned by an extra-curricular activity endorsed by the Makerere University Faculty of Technology to focus on this demand. In 2011, KMC made history to global renown when it designed and constructed the first-ever electric vehicle in Africa, the Kiira EV. In 2018, the government approved a Seed Fund to capitalize Kiira Motors Corporation for the construction and operationalisation of the Kiira Vehicle Plant on 100 acres of land at the Jinja Industrial and Business Park. The Plant in its first phase will have an installed capacity of 22 vehicles a day (5,000 a year) and in mid-2021, it will be rolling out the production of its Kayoola EVS electric buses, another first for Africa. The Kayoola EVS, a premium zero emission bus, is designed to facilitate a total sustainable mass mobility solution for urban centres in sub-Saharan Africa. Uganda’s vast wealth of minerals is key to manufacturing vehicle parts and is poised to boost value addition while reducing the nation’s import bill. KMC has acquired 1,280 acres of land in Kayunga for the establishment of the Automotive Industrial and Technology Park to support the localisation of auto parts and the establishment of auto skilling and testing facilities. This provides an opportunity for strategic investments aimed at the localisation of key vehicle parts targeting the regional market.
SOURCE: FORBES AFRICA
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