African manufacturer Opibus launches first electric bus
If we look at the African continent, then there are always interesting innovations and approaches from the most diverse countries to solve the problems of these countries. “Made in Africa” is no longer an exception these days, a continent that we once saw as a single large developing country has become many independent states that are also playing on the international market. So does the company Opibus.
Because manufacturers of electric vehicles usually only target customer groups in the countries of America, Europe or Asia, urban and remote areas in Namibia or Kenya are not a good environment for a Tesla or a VW ID. Therefore, Opibus has been developing solutions for electric mobility in Africa for some time.
The company was started as a research project at a Swedish university in 2017, with the aim of advancing electromobility in growth markets. SUVs, energy storage, motorcycles and buses are the target, with the latter Opibus has now taken a step further, because the company’s electric bus is about to go into mass production.
The first buses are scheduled to do their rounds on the African continent as early as this year, and the vehicles are to be mass-produced by the end of 2023. Although Opibus has already converted conventional buses to electrically powered buses in the past, the new model is the first to build on its own modular EV platform.
Overall, the maintenance costs of the electric bus are said to be around 80 percent lower than those of diesel buses, while operating costs are cut in half. The manufacturer will have to prove that this will also work in the long term from the second half of 2022, when 10 buses will be in operation.
These then make their rounds in areas around Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. Recent investments in the company show that the technology has potential. Last fall, Opibus collected around 6.62 million euros [1] one. So maybe in the near future we will hear about an electric bus fleet in different African countries.
Via Electrek
