Mobius Motors

Mobius Motors is a manufacturer of cars intended for its customers in Africa. The company's cars are designed, manufactured, and sold as highly durable and functional, yet affordable vehicles. These are designed around the needs of the African consumer, specifically addressing needs around common road terrain, typical vehicle loading, and the average income levels. The company is headquartered in Nairobi. Mobius is focused on vehicle sales in Kenya and hopes to grow more extensively throughout Africa. The company also helps export vehicles for those outside of Kenya and Africa who wish to own them.

One of the keys to Mobius's plans and abilities to manufacture automobiles, specifically sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) priced for the domestic African market where the per capita income is around USD$865 a year, relies on the lack of Kenyan import duties on individual automotive components. This makes it more cost-effective for Mobius to import automotive parts (such as the running gear, suspension parts, and brakes) and assemble the final automobile in Kenya. This reduces the vehicle price, with an entry level cost of 1.3 million Kenyan shillings (KES), or USD $12,897, which resembles half the cost of a second-hand SUV model imported from Japan.

Earlier version of the Mobius II.

The Mobius II is an evolution of the company's first vehicle, produced in 2012, which was described as a windowless bucket and was half the cost of the Mobius II. The Mobius II offers an aesthetic similar to Mercedes G-Wagon and the Land Rover Defender, with a boxy exterior. Underneath the exterior is the core structural element of the vehicle, a robust space-frame mounted on a longitudinal ladder chassis. This is combined with a sealed solid rear axle, which lowers the vehicle's center of gravity, while still offering higher ground clearance. The space-frame also works to offer passenger protection and balance the weight across the vehicle.

Prototype view of the interior of the Mobius II.

The Mobius II's powertrain is based on an inline 4-cylinder sixteen valves and variable valve timing (VVT) engine, with a five-speed manual rear-wheel drive transmission intended to offer increased torque at lower engine speeds while still offering fuel economy. The engine is a 1.8 liter engine, capable of 130 horsepower and 132.4 lb.-ft. of torque, made through a joint venture by Toyota and GM.

The vehicle's suspension is based on a double wishbone coil spring suspension for the front and a live axle leaf spring suspension in the rear, which Mobius says offers responsive vehicle performance without compromising load capacity for towing and transporting heavier goods. And the vehicle offers front disc brakes and rear drum brakes.

Since the earlier versions of the Mobius II, which had no door handles, no air-conditioning, no power steering, and no glass besides the windshield, the design has developed to include more features to appeal to a wider consumer base. This is reflected in the new Mobius infotainment system. This system integrates GPS navigation, Wi-Fi connectivity, multimedia, USB connection, NFC, and Bluetooth connectivity for hands-free calling, all in a 8-inch touch screen display. This display can also offer mirroring of smartphones in order to maximize access to phone data and functionality. This is paired with what the company calls a simplified dashboard to offer a better driving experience.

There is a growing automotive market in Africa, with African automakers manufacturing and shipping vehicles domestically. This includes Kiira Motors and Innoson.

Kiira Motors, based in Uganda, is developing a hybrid car expected to sell at USD $20,000 per vehicle. Kiira is 96 percent state-owned and is building a $40 million assembly plant in southern Uganda to increase the company's manufacturing capacity to around 5,000 vehicles per year. Since the company's introduction in 2011, they have released three prototypes.

In Nigeria, Innoson launched a range of private cars in 2014 that are made mostly from locally sourced parts; it was suggested by some to create the potential for Nigeria to be the automotive hub of Africa. According to Innoson, the company has gone on to sell 10,000 vehicles since it began operations.

In 1986, the Kenyan government initiated the Nyayo Car, which never made it into production. Since then, the automotive industry in Africa has continued to struggle. However, with African nations moving from low- to middle-income status, there is an anticipated growth in the automotive industry for the continent. This has been reflected in growth in auto sales in the East African Community. This is a common market, which includes Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, and South Sudan. And in this market, the auto sales are on track to double to 500,000 vehicles per year in the next decade.

Many expect that for the automotive industry in Africa, and especially African automotive companies, to continue to grow. There will be a need for a mix of both state support in specific states and private equity, to allow these companies to build the facilities and abilities necessary to manufacture vehicles per demand. Part of this would include government policy favoring domestic production of cars and automotive parts, which would help build the industry in Africa and curb the importing of second-hand parts from countries like Japan. Harmonizing tax rates amongst countries would also help keep costs of domestically developed vehicles down.