East Africa’s first hybrid vehicle Kiira EV SMACK

The Kiira EV SMACK, which is being developed by Uganda, has gone on its public exhibition in Kenya and more likely to be produced in the nearest future

12/4/14 4:00 am chumakdenis 1

The vehicle went on show at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in the capital Nairobi early Thursday.

 

This is the first time the car goes on exhibition outside Uganda.  

A few words about Kiira Motors Corporation

Kiira Motors Corporation (KMC) - the Ugandan manufacturers of the car - recently told that it will be the region’s first sedan hybrid electronic vehicle.

Hybrid vehicles combine the benefits of gasoline engines and electric motors and can be configured to obtain different objectives, such as improved fuel economy, increased power, or additional auxiliary power for electronic devices and power tools.          

The Daily Nation quoted Miriam Mukasa who is coordinating the launch of the car as saying “the reason why we are having a high profile launch is to attract investors from East African: "We are looking for collaboration because it’s an expensive venture”.   The launch was attended by Uganda’s High Commissioner to Kenya, Angelina Wapakhabulo, after which a test drive was done at the KICC grounds.

 

 

About Kiira EV SMACK

The Kiira EV SMACK is an improved version of the Kiira EV car, first unveiled by President Yoweri Museveni in 2011 in Kampala, after being developed by Makerere University College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology

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Kiira SMACK is a hybrid electric / solar 5 seater car with an All Electric Range (AER) of 50km and a top speed of 180km/hr. The car is 4840mm long, 1657mm wide and 1386mm high with a wheel base of 2859mm and a minimum ground clearance of 150mm  

History 

“This idea was inspired by Makerere’s participation in the 2006-2008 Vehicle Design Summit 2.0, which was headed by the US-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,” Tickodri-Togboa recalls.

“Makerere University was the only African participant and we were the lead team in the development of Power Electronics and Data Networking of the Vision 200 prototype. From there we went on to develop our own vehicle.”

The Kiira EV PoC, later launched by President Museveni on November 24, 2011, has spurred the team to greater growth. Tickodri-Togboa, aware of the criticism that came with the introduction of Kiira EV, says sceptics will be impressed with the next designs.

“Kiira EV was a proof of concept, meaning that we were able to get the idea off the paper and into action, now we intend to showcase a vehicle that will transform the transport sector in Africa and across the world.”

Headed for production

Mid-this year, at the official launch of the hybrid car in Jinja, KMC said commercial production would start in 2018.   They said 300 pieces of the car would be produced every month.   On May 15, the Kiira EV Project received 100 acres of land at the Jinja Industrial and Business Park. The assembly line will be built on the land.   

Paul Isaac Musasizi, the project’s chief engineer, said they need about $350m to set up the whole plant and start the actual manufacturing of cars.   “We need to develop at least 19 model vehicles between now and 2018 before we can finally release our first car, entirely built in Uganda.”   KMC is seeking a reputable car maker consortium to partner with them to make internationally acceptable cars.