08:28
 |
| MOBIUS VEHICLE MANUFACTURE IN KENYA |
An
investor at Mobius says it will sell equity stakes to a number of local and
international investors and use the cash for increased production of the
Kenyan-built and Africa’s cheapest vehicle.
The
firm’s production has been tied to pre-orders and it was last month set to
start delivery of the 50 vehicles whose owners had paid an initial deposit of
Sh50, 000 for a car priced at Sh950,000 excluding VAT or Sh1.1 million
inclusive of taxes.
“A
number of international investors are expected to sign up. We expect to unveil
them in Q1 2015,” Darshan Chandaria, a director of Chandaria Industries — which
acquired an undisclosed stake in the start-up auto firm — told the Business Daily.
“There
is also a team of local shareholders that will be joining Mobius. The new
investors will help Mobius get additional capital and capacity to move into
mass production.
The
Chandaria business empire (no direct relationship to the Comcraft Group owned by
the family of billionaire Manilal ‘Manu’ Chandaria, who is uncle to Mahesh
Chandaria, Darshan’s father) includes interests in tissue paper and hygiene
products, manufacturing and distribution, flexible packaging, real estate,
mining, solar energy generation and automobile assembly.
The
Chandaria group operates in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, India and Dubai.
Mobius
has recently been the focus of investors with the latest being US billionaire
Ronald Lauder who offered Mobius an undisclosed convertible debt to help it
assemble the first 50 units this year and establish a distribution network.
The
low-priced car is the brainchild of Joel Jackson, a 29-year-old British
entrepreneur who has lived in Kenya since 2009.
Mobius
target market is small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) in agribusiness,
infrastructure and supplies operating in remote rural areas and need a car that
can withstand the rough terrain.
Lack
of affordable commercial vehicles such as pick-ups has forced Kenya’s
rural-based SMEs to turn to the Toyota Probox, a station wagon, to ferry goods
through the rough rural terrain.
Mobius
is also entering the market just after Land Rover announced plans to stop
assembling the Defender model in Kenya next year.
Commercial
vehicles such as pick-ups, trucks and buses account for 40 per cent of Kenya’s
new vehicles market that has been growing steadily with increased demand from
sectors such public transport, haulage and agribusiness.
The
car is also targeting the lucrative tourism safari market for rides in the national
parks as well as government agencies, especially those located in remote rural
outposts.
Tweet
