A Mombasa based tech company Ana Green Tech Africa has launched electric three-wheelers commonly referred to as Tuktuks which are expected to hit the market by March this year. The company, an affiliate of Green Tech Africa, an East African company that sells electric vehicles with the aim of promoting green energy and creating sustainable growth through employment and innovation.
The tuktuks Model Geni-80 are manufactured in China and were assembled at the Associated Vehicle Assemblers (AVA) in Miritini. The three wheelers carry three passengers and are fitted with a battery power of 4.38 kWh with a range per single charge of 100 kilometers.
Speaking during the event, Amina Ibrahim, the company director said that they had a vision to build their own manufacturing plant in the next four years which will open job opportunities for many residents.
“Our entry into Mombasa is focused on making the county to be the hub of Ana Green Tech supporting all our other offices in Ethiopia, Djibouti, Rwanda, Uganda and other East African countries. This will also see us putting the city of Mombasa on the Kenyan map of electric vehicles,” said Ibrahim.
The Geni-80 has a portable charge with it, and it can be charged at home on regular socket outlet like a mobile phone.
“It has no Engine, so avoids engine repair and overhaul and is also cost saving on spare parts because it has no periodic serviced parts like the air filter fuel filler, oil filter and doesn’t need oil and lubricants,” Ibrahim said.
The nine tuktuks she said where brought in for research purposes as they explore the market needs and demands before making the shipment for sale come March this year.
“What we found out when we brought these is that we need bigger tuktuks with bigger storage place because that’s what we have in the market,” she said.
The current market price for the tuktuks is Sh500,000 but she said that once here the actual price will range for between Sh550,000 to Sh600,000.
So far the company has installed two charging points within the county, one around Agha Khan and the other at Sabaki Motors in Ganjoni.
“We are currently seeking a location for charging stations that is why we are bringing in the county government of Mombasa to partner with us to set up all infrastructures in place to support this innovation get into the market smoothly,” Ibrahim said.
Engineer Albert Keino, the chief officer department of Transport and Infrastructure said that Mombasa has experienced an upsurge of three wheelers over the years. Currently there are about 10,000 tuktuks in Mombasa with only 7,000 registered officially with the county.
Keino said that this is presenting both opportunities to the people as well as challenges in terms of traffic congestion, constrain in spare parts and space to put up public transport systems as well as to the environment”
“The solution from entrepreneurs like Ana Green Tech Africa and other likeminded investors is welcomed in the city,” Keino said.
He added that electric mobility is among the many innovative ways of solving challenges to the environment through reduction of carbon green emissions.
“It is also compliance to the United Nations sustainable development goals that puts emphasize on clean and healthy environment that will give way to productivity and progress,” Keino said.
In regard to space to do the infrastructure to support electric vehicles, Keino promised that the county through the department will look into it.
A recent Green House Emission (GHE) inventory on the transport sector in Mombasa revealed that the tuktuks are the biggest emitters in the city.
Basil Muga, the chief sustainability officer at the environment and climate change department said that the invention of electric tuktuks goes a long way in supporting the department’s sustainability efforts especially in regard to sustainable transportation.
Muga said that it was encouraging to see that the space is increasingly coming open to players in the e-mobility sector and more particularly in the three wheelers.
“We have been grappling with ways of trying to mitigate that in the context of climate change and this will help us address the issue significantly,” he said.
