Kiira Motors Vehicle plant – Prime Time Communications

News

Kiira Motors Announces Uganda’s First e-Mobility Expo

PRESS STATEMENT Kiira Motors Announces Uganda’s First e-Mobility Expo 31st July 2024 – Kiira Motors Corporation (KMC) has today announced Uganda’s first e-Mobility Expo and Kiira Vehicle Plant (KVP Open House– which is taking place on Friday 16th August 2024 at the Kiira Vehicle Plant in Jinja from 12:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Held under the theme The Future is Green; The Future is Now, the first-of-its-kind event is designed to explore, showcase, and encourage the adoption of electric mobility solutions in Uganda. The Kiira Vehicle Open House and e-Mobility Expo 2024 will gather over 200 industry leaders, potential customer, suppliers, policymakers, investors, innovators, and the public to discuss Uganda’s readiness to adapt to the e-mobility revolution – all towards positioning the nation as a net source of e-mobility solutions in Africa. During a media roundtable held on the all-electric city bus the Kayoola EVS Model 2024, Mr. Paul Isaac Musasizi, the Chief Executive Officer of Kiira Motors Corporation, said, “This expo marks a significant milestone in Uganda’s journey towards embracing electric mobility which offers immense potential for reducing the nation’s carbon footprint and creating new economic opportunities while fostering innovation. We are proud to host this inaugural event and showcase the innovations that will shape the future of mobility in our country.” The expo will feature a series of fireside conversations drawing content experts in the fields of e-financing, carbon trading, energy and e-mobility infrastructure development, and more. Uganda in the recently concluded census recorded a population of 45.9 million people. Thanks to increased urbanisation, the mobility needs of this population have resulted in vehicular emissions which are the leading cause of Kampala’s increased air pollution readings from a dangerous annual averaging at 39.5 micrograms of pollutant matter in each cubic metre in 2019 increasing to 41 micrograms per cubic metre in 2024. This is eight times higher than the 5 micrograms per cubic meter that the World Health Organization defines as the safe limit for air pollution- negatively affecting the health and well-being of citizens epically in the urban centres making the case for e-mobility solutions which also serve to improve the national energy equation considering that with fossil fuels today we import both the energy ~ USD 2Bn annually and the vehicles ~ USD 730 M annually. Allan Muhumuza, the Team Leader of the Mobility Bureau in the Secretariat of Science and Technology in the Office of the President, said, “With a vision to see Uganda transition to e-mobility in public mass transport, motorcycles, and passenger vehicles, the Government is implementing the National e-Mobility Strategy – which looks to build an efficient and self-sustaining ecosystem. This event is a bold step towards further bringing together all the relevant players towards seeing this vision come to life to combat climate change and enhance the quality of life for our citizens.” The expo will draw exhibitors with a wide range of products and services including Innovex, Nexus Green, Green Hub, Karaa, KaCyber Securities Ltd., GoGo and many more. The Open House provides an opportunity to participants tour the state-of-the-art Kiira Vehicle Plant. The Kiira Vehicle Plant has an installed capacity of 2,500 vehicles per annum. This will be tooled up to 5,000 vehicles per annum in the medium term positioning Uganda as a net source of Mobility Solutions in Africa. ENDS

July 31, 2024

Automotive Industry

Uganda to launch three-wheeler vehicle with irrigation and electricity generation capabilities

Farmers and rural households are set to benefit from a new three-wheeler motor vehicle on the market that enables them to transport their goods, pump water and generate electricity. President Yoweri Museveni is set to launch the trike during celebrations to mark Uganda’s 61st independence on 9 October in Kitgum District. The trike, named Bingwa, Swahili for champion, is a product of a group of self-trained innovators from the informal sectorled by Rogers Mubiru under their company Kevoton Motions Engineering Ltd. The engine casting was made at the John Lugendo Foundry in Kibuye in Kampala. Bingwa is powered by a 0.8 litre 2-stroke engine with a potentially higher power-to-weight ratio compared to traditional 4-stroke engines making it fuel efficient and easy to maneuver. This was revealed by Hon Dr Monica Musenero, the Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in the Office of the President during a flag off ceremony held at the Kiira Motors Vehicle Plant in Jinja where the trike was built. Bingwa, the three-wheeler commonly known as Tuk-Tuk can transport 1,000kg of goods, pump 6,000 litres of water per hour for irrigation and generate 6kW of electricity every hour, thereby solving some of the farmers and rural households’ most immediate challenges. The STI Secretariat under the Office of the President provided a grant to Kevoton Motions through the National Research and Innovation Program (Innovation Fund) for the domestic manufacture of a 3-in-1 trike for mobility, water pumping and electricity generation. Kiira Motors incubated and supported Kevoton Motions to bring their idea to life. The Bingwa trike is relatively affordable for smallholder farmers while equipped with technologies that solve their most immediate challenges — transport, water, and electricity. In Uganda, 90% of the population lives in rural areas while 80% of the households are involved in agriculture according to the Uganda National Population and Housing Census of 2014. However, only 2.9% of the households use irrigation on at least one plot for the first season and 2.4% for the second season. Just 19% of households are estimated to have access to electricity for lighting on the backdrop of an electricity distribution access of 51%. A solution that addresses the household’s challenges is critical in fostering economic development. “Mobility is a fundamental component for rural development, connecting people to opportunities, services and resources necessary for their well-being and economic progress,” says Hon Dr Musenero. “Electricity plays a transformative role in rural agrarian communities by boosting agricultural productivity, improving living conditions, enhancing education and healthcare and enabling economic diversification,” Hon Dr Musenero adds. Dr Musenero committed her support to innovators. “We are behind schedule in terms of innovations and we must therefore work hard to catch up with other continents. My ministry will continue to provide the needed support to innovators to come up with such products,” she said. She further says that irrigation is crucial in ensuring consistent water supply for crops to improve yields and enhance food security. All these three functions (mobility, electricity and irrigation) are key components that the Bingwa trike can be able to execute. The Bingwa trike can lead to rural transformation if it is integrated into the Parish Development Model or other government programs. “We got the idea of developing this engine in 1998 because we didn’t have a product that we could call ours as a country at the time. After attending an exhibition, we started working with Makerere University because of our innovativeness and eventually Kiira Motors under the STI Secretariat that has led to the production of the Bingwa Trike,” says Rogers Mubiru, Founder and Director at Kevoton Motions Engineering Ltd. “We hope that this development will lead to an offtake of 600 units which can be deployed in different sub-counties across the country to enable households improve their livelihood,” Mubiru says. The flag off to Kitgum where Bingwa will be officially launched was also attended by Hon Denis Onekalit Amere, the Member of Parliament for Kitgum Municipality who pledged his support to sustainable products. “Bingwa will solve challenges of our people across the country who are predominantly farmers and live in rural areas,” he said. “This is a welcome innovation but we need to ensure that Mubiru and others innovators like him get the support they need so that our country industrializes thereby creating jobs for our people,” he added. Allan Muhumuza, Mobility Team Leader at the STI Secretariat says that the success of the project has enabled the government to validate an incubation model where a budding innovator, especially in the informal sector is placed under the mentorship of an anchor enterprise like Kiira Motors. “This enables us to transfer skills, utilize existing infrastructure, create institutional capacity and foster synergies towards industrialization,” he explains. Most of the parts used to make the Bingwa Trike are made locally and many can be made by independent suppliers in the automotive industry value chain thereby making the case for localization and value addition of products. The support from the STI, which commenced in August 2022 has led to the Bingwa trike being made with 55% local content, according to Albert Akovuku, the Director of Production at Kiira Motors. “The key parts which have been locally made are the engine, the chassis, the frame and the body panels,” Akovuku reveals. “Specifically, 70 out of 128 parts have been made locally. Mass production will be at the Kiira Vehicle Plant in Jinja with initial capacity of 1,000 units per a year growing to 4,000 per a year in the medium term,” he adds. Realizing the potential of the project, the Uganda Development Bank (UDB) has offered project preparation funding amounting to USD250,000 (approximately Shs900 million) to facilitate the development of the project business plan and production readiness. The Bingwa trike will cost Shs28 million, lower than what one would spend if they were to buy an ordinary tuk-tuk, water pump, and a power generator. The Bingwa Trike uses diesel. With an estimated total addressable market of 100,000 trikes in Uganda in

October 4, 2023

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch Training bus drivers as a business opportunity

#OutToLunch Training bus drivers as a business opportunity By Denis Jjuuko Sometime back, while on a trip to northern Uganda, in a vehicle that belongs to some agency, I noticed that the driver waved at each bus we found along the way. Midway the journey, we stopped for a break to refill our coffee cups and such other things. We found many buses at the place we stopped. My driver, I will call him my driver, went to greet all the bus drivers that were parked there. He seemed excited to see them and they were also happy to greet him as they embraced and had animated conversations. When we resumed the journey, I asked him how he knew all these bus drivers. He told me he started out as a conductor in a taxi that was owned by his elder brother. His brother was the driver. Eventually, his brother bought another taxi. By this time, my driver had learnt how to drive and started driving one of the taxis. After buying several taxis, he got an opportunity to buy a used bus that plied some routes between some major towns in northern Uganda. This growth was financed by him selling the taxis so my driver became a conductor again. But my driver’s brother always wanted to play big and his dream was to ply the Kampala route. He eventually bought a newer bus that would allow him to live his dream. After one bus, he bought another one. My driver became a bus driver as well plying the Kampala route. Today, my driver’s brother company has several buses hence the excitement he always had whenever he saw one of the buses. His brother of course stopped driving buses to concentrate on management, acquisition of buses and the expansion of his company. By this time, I had one burning question. Why did he leave his brother to get a job in an agency in Kampala? He said he was being paid per a trip to Kampala. He would earn Shs100,000 per a trip. If he made a return trip, he would earn Shs200,000. So, making more trips came at the expense of his wellbeing. He had no leave days; he had no weekend. If he had decided to take a day off, and another driver was sick, he would be called in. To make ends meet, he wasn’t resting enough. As he became older, he could no longer make many trips a month. He started looking for a much more stable job that allowed him recuperation time and landed one in the agency as a driver. I asked him why many buses are driven badly, he said many drivers want to make return journeys so that they are paid double in a day so they tend to move faster. So they disable speed governors, but where they can’t, they put the car in neutral gear during downhill and the bus just moves freely at an unbelievable speed. He also told me that the most important skill a bus driver must have is anticipation — euphemism for the ability to judge that you can take a corner or overtake without braking. Buses, he told me, don’t break like small cars and because they are big, you can’t simply swing it as you wish in case you realized a problem ahead. So to “anticipate” what lies ahead is key, he said. Anticipation is a recipe for disaster and one of the reasons for many accidents because one can’t always tell what lies ahead. I must confess that I don’t know whether that is the case with all bus drivers but ever since my driver told me that, I have noticed that is how many bus drivers behave on the road. It points to a lack of bus driver training. My driver never told me that he had been to any school that taught him how to drive a bus. He simply graduated from a taxi to a bus driver. So, where do bus drivers train? I don’t know of any school that offers bus drivers training but I might be wrong. Many companies that sell buses, do some orientation of bus drivers especially when some new technology has been introduced. Indeed, some even have simulators but many times, guys who have just been driving taxis and lorries are simply graduated to bus driving. Isn’t this a business opportunity? A track can easily be built and simulators installed in Kayunga where Kiira Motors plans to establish an automotive industrial park. I believe they are open to this kind of collaboration. Government can give the right incentives for the interested qualified investor. Also, Uganda can ban buses built on lorry chassis. Buses as built as buses today have technology that doesn’t allow the roofs to curve in during accidents and have other safety measures meant for protecting passengers. Unlike buses built on lorry chassis. A bus costs on average USD150,000 (approximately Shs530 million) so why don’t bus owners think about this cost by providing better employment terms for their drivers? A bus can have a flat bed at the back where one of the drivers can sleep and half the way the journey, another driver having rested enough can complete the journey. This is the case in many countries. Bus owners can use that as a start but also ensure that their most prized asset isn’t driven by guys devoid of sleep. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com *The Kayoola Coach by Kiira Motors

October 21, 2022

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch Embracing electric mobility will reduce the cost of doing business

By Denis Jjuuko Cars may have started as means of transporting people and goods from one place to another. That may still be the case today but how a car looks like and functions matter more than ever. In a world, where car models are released every so often, how they look also matters. A global automotive executive once told me that cars are fashion statements. Besides functionality, people buy cars for almost the same reasons they buy other stuff like clothing, shoes or which hangout to frequent. In Uganda and most of rapidly urbanizing Africa, there are other aspects to consider too. Besides the financing options, the cost of running a vehicle for a day in a clogged city with unbelievable traffic can be enormous. Many people drive with one eye on the fuel gauge and the other on the price boards at fuel stations. A small variation in price, sees motorists thinking of abandoning their trusted brands to stations whose name they can’t recall even after a few times of prompting. As the cost of buying cars and maintaining them skyrockets, the other alternatives like public transport in most of Africa remain challenging. Many young people end up working for transport and remaining with nothing thereby entrenching them into generational poverty. There is no continent that is as urbanizing as Africa today. If we don’t solve transport challenges, we will miss the opportunities that come with urbanization. One way of solving the challenge is by fast tracking processes that can increase electric mobility on the continent. The Uganda Revenue Authority licensing regime is still stuck in expensive internal combustion engine vehicles. There are no clear guidelines on how one can get a license for an electric vehicle. In 2021! There are some companies in Uganda that are trying to turn motorcycles into electric bodabodas, which enable the riders to earn a little bit more income while at the same time protecting the environment. Due to unclear guidelines and/or lack of incentives, they largely have to get the typical motorcycle, remove its engine and replace it with batteries. This makes the motorcycle expensive to acquire although it’s cheaper to operate and increases the rider’s daily incomes. I believe if there was a critical mass of electric bodabodas in the city, the transport rates would go down. Bodabodas aren’t only transporting people, they are playing a critical role in e-commerce. Almost all people doing online businesses in Kampala, somewhat depend on motorcycles to deliver goods and even services such as laboratory blood tests. Electric mobility would significantly reduce the cost of doing business, increase the profitability of these businesses and ensure that we reduce the common statistic of businesses not celebrating their fifth anniversary. Although the numbers are hard to come by, there is an increasing number of especially young people starting online businesses, selling all sorts of stuff. From passion fruits, clothing, and even offering services such as home education and they all largely depend on the bodabodas or motorcycles. Sometimes they don’t make sales though because of transport. To deliver 60 passion fruits worth Shs10,000 from Nateete to Najjeera costs almost the same cost of the passion fruits themselves. A customer who is willing to buy from a certain trader ends up failing to place an order just because the transport cost is too high. The trader’s business then fails to make a sale, which reduces its profitability, leading to eventual collapse. Bodabodas also employ a lot of people. As we talk of electric mobility and as the world abandons internal combustion engines, cars and even bodabodas will increasingly need electronic components such as advanced control units. These components will contribute as much as 50% to the price of the vehicle by 2030. Can the likes of Kiira Motors and all these electric bodaboda companies be buying these units from Uganda instead of importing them? Engineering students at Makerere and other universities can easily make these components. A car is perhaps the most complicated technically advanced consumer good ever made. It is a unit of approximately 30,000 parts. Once many of the components can be made by a country, then almost anything can be made. If one can make a vehicle’s control unit, they would be able to make MRI scans and such other devices. The automotive industry is a catalyst for sustainable manufacturing. And transport is a key business cost, which can be reduced by electrifying it. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com *Kiira Motors’ Kayoola EVS, a fully electric bus.

October 1, 2021

News

Technology and Development Enthusiasts Impressed by Kiira Motors Vehicle Plant

By Sierra Ruth Arinaitwe Kiira Motors Corporation hosted a team of technology and development enthusiasts who experienced the comfort of the luxurious Kayoola Coach during their ride to the Kiira Motors vehicle plant currently undergoing construction at the Jinja Industrial and Business Park. Upon arrival at the plant, they were welcomed by Kiira Motors CEO Paul Isaac Musasizi with whom they had a rich engagement about the automotive industry and its contribution to Uganda’s development agenda. They were taken on a guided tour of the plant. Tusiime Samson, a team leader at Veritas Interactive Uganda said his view of Kiira Motors was always based on a misconception which always clouded his judgment about the corporation. “I had always been skeptical about what Kiira Motors is doing. This trip has been really informative and given me an insight of what is intended to transpire at Kiira Motors vehicle plant,” he said. “I am really impressed by the direction Uganda is taking in the automotive industry and the fact that Uganda has talent to manufacture products like the Kayoola Diesel Coach.” Tusiime further stated that engagements with the Kiira Motors CEO and the visit to the plant informed him about what is on ground, what has always been communicated about Kiira Motors and as well rule out the misconceptions he had about Kiira Motors. Daniel Bwambale, a judicial officer who also works at the Uganda Legal Information Institute said he always had questions whether Kiira Motors was simply “another Ugandan story.” “My main reason for this trip was to prove that there is a plan, if the plan is under implementation and that the plan would come alive and not just die just like many other plans have died out in Uganda,” he said. Bwamble referred to Kiira Motors Corporation as one of Uganda’s good stories that people should be told and with it, he believes that Uganda can do more. Another automotive enthusiast and IT professional engineer with Yo Uganda Ronald Sebuhinja, says his main concern was to get a sense of scale of what Kiira Motors really does. Sebuhinja says it was unclear to him what Kiira Motors is doing when it comes to vehicle manufacturing. “Visiting the plant gave me a clear plan of what is done at Kiira Motors and an idea of what will be done once the construction is complete and is in use.” “I was really impressed by the human resource who have knowledge of whatever transpires here most especially by the speed and execution of work by NEC ( the construction company) who have been able to do such amazing work in a short period of time and am sure they will meet the deadline,” he said. David Birungi, a Public Relations tutor at the University of Nairobi who also works with UMEME said before, he was a bit skeptical as he thought importing cars gave Uganda an advantage over manufacturing here. “After this trip, I have come to understand the Kiira Motors story and this has completely changed my thinking about Uganda’s automotive industry,” he said adding that he looks forwards to coming back to witness how vehicles will be built. Jeremiah Ahumuza Birungi, a 12-year-old pupil at Kampala Parents School who was also the youngest enthusiast said he was looking forward to vehicles made in Uganda. “I am impressed by the progress of the plant. I can’t wait to see how it will look like once its complete,” he said. The first phase of construction of the Kiira Motors vehicle plant is slated to be complete by this. Upon completion, it will be the new home of Kiira Motors Corporation from which it intends to build about 22 cars per day and about 5000 cars per annum.

March 22, 2021

News

Kiira Motors Vehicle Plant Nears Completion

By Sierra Ruth Arinaitwe The Kiira Motors vehicle plant is nearing completion with 75% of the construction work complete. The plant, which sits on 100 acres of land in the Jinja Industrial and Business Park includes the assembly building floor, warehouse area, site circulation roads, water and power reticulations, parking areas, perimeter fence and gate facilities. The construction contractor National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) said during the site visit over the weekend that they will be able to meet the deadline, which is slated for June 2021. Maj. Arthur Kyoffa, the head of electrical works at NEC says the general structural progress is now at 75% and is confident that by June 2021, they will have met the client’s expectations. “At this point, most of the super structural work is almost done. We are now mainly looking at the internal and external finishing to the building. We are sure that the plant is going to be ready by June and we are going to deliver to the expectations of our client,” Maj. Kyoffa said. Upon completion, the plant will be the new home of building buses in Uganda. Allan Muhumuza, the Director Marketing and Sales at Kiira Motors says the plant will have the capacity to build about 22 cars per day and about 5000 cars per annum. Lydia Nakanda Mugoya, the clerk of works at the site, says they had a few setbacks in the beginning of the project but amidst them, they were able to embark on the work. “In 2019, our biggest challenge was the weather. It rained almost every day which slowed us down. In 2020, we were also affected by the COVID-19 lockdown which resulted into delayed some activities. The lockdown also interrupted the importation of some construction materials but we are positive that we shall meet the client’s deadline,” she said. Kiira Motors Corporation is a government owned initiative aimed at creating the automotive industry in the country. The country has so far built three production ready buses with two of them fully electric for city mass transit and an internal combustion one for long distance travel.

March 2, 2021