Kenya has a modest history of vehicle production, which has only just started to pay off.
The Nyayo Pioneer One was the first automobile produced in the nation in 1986. The late former president Moi led the initiative to construct it.
He introduced the car in Nairobi’s Kasarani Stadium in 1991. It was magnificent and the first of its sort on the entire African continent, not just in Kenya.
The saloon vehicle had a 1200 cc engine and had a top speed of 120 km/h. The vehicle came in 4 different variations: a pickup, a sports coupe, a rally version, and a five-door sedan. Every component of the car, excluding the carburetor, was made in the region.
A Nyayo Pioneer Car
Indeed, the initiative spread smiles and offered to turn the country into a significant automobile producer for the area, giving the inhabitants a sense of pride.
It did, however, experience a number of failures in the near future, but its engineers remained steadfast. But things would only get worse.
The late Nicholas Biwott became involved as the Department of Engineering strained to produce more units.
He allegedly insisted on having a pick-up version made to his specifications since he believed Kenyans would find it more affordable. He hurried the engineers to provide such an example.
But when the prototypes were unveiled, Biwott became upset because the pick-up did not come up first in the launching. As a result, he permanently banned the program.
The fantasy of the “Kenyan car” ended abruptly at this point. Kenya wouldn’t start producing and selling cars again for more than 20 years.
While this was going on, multinational automakers like Toyota East Africa and General Motors among others continued to assemble and sell cars. Renault and Mitsubishi vehicles were sold by Simba Colt.
Mobius rekindled the nation’s automobile industry 20 years later. Joel Jackson established Mobius Motors Kenya Ltd in Kenya in 2010 and had it officially registered in 2011.
The idea behind the company was to create straightforward automobiles that could compete with imports of used cars. The business unveiled the Mobius 2 in 2018.
A Mobius 2
The 2-seat freight carrier version is priced at Ksh1.3 million. A 5-seater version called “Adventure” is also available. The price is Ksh1.45 million.
This exceptional 1800 cc engine-equipped all-terrain SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) is only available with a manual transmission and is available in a choice of three colors.
On June 10, 2021, the Mobius 3 model, a new one, was released. The vehicle would cost Ksh 3.9 million to purchase.
A Mobius 3
2018 also saw the release of the Volkswagen Polo Vivo in addition to Mobius. It was started by President Uhuru even though franchising accounts for the majority of its success.
It is a five-door hatchback that was produced locally to enhance reliance on locally produced items and reduce import expenses.
Since then, the model has been put together in an industrial facility in Thika, Kiambu County. The price is Sh1.65 million.
