Products Automobiles Founded 2012 Headquarters Ntinda, Kampala | Website Homepage Type of business Public | |
 | ||
Industry Automobile
Manufacturing Key people Sandy Stevens Tickodri-Togboa
chairman
Paul Isaac Musasizi
chief executive officer
Albert Akovuku
Vice President -Production | ||
Kiira Motors Corporation (KMC) is an automobile manufacturing company in Uganda.
Contents
Overview
KMC, established in 2012, is the result of a collaboration between Makerere University, College of Engineering & Industrial Design, the Uganda Ministry of Trade, Industry & Cooperatives, and the Office of the President of Uganda. The government of Uganda had invested over US$70 million in the company, as of November 2014. The company has received an allocation of 100 acres (40 ha) of land in the Jinja Industrial and Business Park on which to build an assembly plant. Commercial production is expected to start in 2018.
History
In 2007, a global consortium of over 31 universities and colleges across the world took part in a Vehicle Design Summit (VDS) to design and bring to market a 5-Seater plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, the Vision 200, targeting the Indian market
Under the United States-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology led three-year project, Uganda's Makerere University was the only participant from Africa. The team from the Faculty of Technology now College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology[1] was responsible for design and integration of the Low Power Electronics and Data Networking Systems. With the experience from the summit, the Ugandan scientists involved were inspired to embark on a project to develop a "Made in Uganda" electric car.
In 2011, the first prototype, the "Kiira EV", was a two-seater electric car produced by Makerere University. Using funding from both the Presidential Initiative on Science and Technology and the Uganda Ministry of Trade, Industry & Cooperatives through the Uganda Development Corporation, Makerere University researchers built the "Kiira EV SMACK", a five-seater sedan hybrid that uses both lithium batteries and petrol.
In 2014, the company acquired 100 acres (40 ha) in the Jinja Industrial Park in the town of Kakira, where it plans to construct an assembly plant. In February 2016, KMC unveiled a 35-seater bus, named "Kayoola", that operates exclusively on solar power.
Vehicle models
As of February 2016, the company has produced the following prototypes:
- Kiira EV, a two-seater, 100 percent electric car.
- Kiira EV SMACK, a five-seater sedan hybrid car that uses both lithium batteries and petrol.
- Kayoola, a 35-seater bus that operates exclusively on solar power.
Ownership
The company is wholly owned by the government of Uganda. The two major shareholders in KMC are Makerere University and the Uganda Development Corporation. A total of US$350 million is being sought by the company from investors in the private sector to construct an assembly plant.