- Autopax Air Yetu goes for Ksh 1.7 million.
- Autopax company is part of the Green Africa Foundation whose founder is Mr. Isaack Kalua.
Recently, President William Ruto drew attention to his motorcade by driving himself to KICC for the Africa Climate Summit in a tiny, bright yellow three-door electric car.
The car, which goes by the name Autopax Air Yetu, was first spotted and chosen by the president’s advisor on climate change who then convinced the president to drive himself in it.
WoK takes a closer look at the car’s features and why the president preferred it over his usual fuel guzzlers.
Manufacturer
Autopax Air Yetu is a product of the partnership between Autopax, a Kenyan electric vehicle manufacturer, and SMGMW, a Chinese automobile manufacturing company.
Autopax company is part of the Green Africa Foundation whose founder is Mr. Isaack Kalua. The electric car was manufactured in China and assembled in Nairobi.
Features
The car comes in two designs, the Autopax Air Yetu and the Autopax Air Yetu Pro.
The Autopax Air Yetu has a range of 200 kilometers on a full charge with a battery capacity of 17.3 kWh.
The Autopax Air Yetu Pro has a battery capacity of 26.7 kWh with a range of 300 kilometers.
According to Mr. Kalua, the cars take between 4-8 hours to charge, depending on whether one is using a fast or slow charger.
Both cars are four-seaters and come with a rear parking sensor and camera, radio, USB connectivity, Bluetooth, and two airbags.
The Autopax Pro model comes with additional features, including GPS, a leather interior, a remote door lock and window control, as well as a geofencing alarm.
The cars come in two colors: The ‘lemon yellow’ one that the president has been driving and an ‘avocado green’ option.
Mr. Kalua dismissed claims that the car’s yellow color was affiliated with the president’s UDA party, saying that the car’s model was designed in 2012 before they could have known that Ruto would become president.
Speaking to Citizen, he revealed that both cars will be made available to the Kenyan market by December for between sh 1.7 million and sh 2 million. He disclosed that they had already received orders for 314 cars, 100 of them similar to the president’s model.
40% cheaper than fuel
According to Mr. Kalua, electric cars are cost-effective as charging them is 40% less expensive than buying fuel.
Electric cars work by converting electrical energy from a battery into mechanical energy to power the wheels.
The battery stores the electrical energy, and the electric motor converts it into mechanical energy. The electric motor is connected to the wheels, and when it turns, it moves the car forward. The battery is charged by plugging the car into an electrical outlet or a public charging station.
Electric cars can be more powerful than fuel cars, especially at lower speeds. This is because they produce instant torque, which is the force that drives the car forward. Fuel cars, on the other hand, need to rev up their engines before they can produce full torque.
Other advantages of electric cars include having fewer moving parts and therefore requiring less maintenance costs. The ride is also smoother and quieter due to the lack of an internal combustion engine.
The EV Association of Kenya is working to install charging stations in major towns in Kenya.
