The presence and aid of new investors will see that Kenya’s Mobius Motors begins mass production of its cars in April.
Mobius production has been based on pre-orders and by December 2014, delivery of 50 pre-ordered vehicles was set to begin. The vehicle owners had made an initial deposit of Sh50, 000 for a car priced at Sh950, 000.
Equity stakes would be sold to both local and international investors and the cash would be used for increased production of Mobius cars.
“A number of international investors are expected to sign up. We expect to unveil them in Q1 2015,” says Mobius stakeholder, Darshan Chandaria, director of Chandaria Industries to Business Daily.
According to him, a team of local shareholders will also be joining the startup firm, thereby adding to the Mobius capacity to mass produce
Mobius has attracted the attention of several investors, including US billionaire Ronald Lauder, who invested an undisclosed sum in the company to aid production of the first 50 units of Mobius cars.
Mobius Motors is headed by British social-entrepreneur, Joel Jackson, who gave up a lucrative career in management consultancy to start Mobius.
The company’s target market is entrepreneurs operating in remote rural areas and in need of a car that defies bad roads leading to these remote areas. “Mobius aims to empower transport entrepreneurs across Africa not just with more appropriate vehicles, but with the financing and business advice needed to operate a sustainable transport centric business. As well as leveraging the existing privatised public transport model (already proven by auto rickshaws and minivans), entrepreneurial buyers can also use their modular Mobius cars to operate a range of other services such as local school buses, mail delivery or mobile medical care,” reads the company’s statement.
The lucrative tourism safari market is also part of the company’s target market.
By Hadassah Egbedi