Kenya doesn’t have much of a good history in making cars…say machines generally. But whenever we have tried, we have given it our best and the end product, usually after long and rigorous days and months of working hard.
Kenya has a record for the first African county to make a locally made and assembled motor vehicle back in 1986 and even though the project never picked up really well, it was one major achievement that motivated many other trials to make vehicles in Kenya which so far, so good have been successful.
Below are some of the cars that have been locally made in Kenya
1. Nyayo Pioneer Car
In 1991, the then president, Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi launched then Nyayo Pioneer Car Project at the Kasarani stadium. This was the first car to be manufactured and assembled in Africa and it was to put Kenya on the roadmap.
This car had a top speed of 120Km/h and had a 1200CC engine. There were 4 versions of the car, a 5 door sedan, a pickup, a rally version car, a sports coupe.
The project failed many times but never dampened the spirit of the inventors. Nyayo Pioneer car project was finally taken over by the National Motors Company (NMC) but Nyayo Pioneer Cars became the first locally manufactured car in Kenya and Africa.
2. Volkswagen (Polo Vivo)
The recently introduced Volkswagen Polo Vivo which was launched by Uhuru Kenyatta is five-door hatchback which is aimed at increasing dependence on locally made goods and to cut import costs. This car is attractive and the cost is pocket-friendly without the struggle of having to wait for almost forever to get your car from the high seas. The Polo Vivo have an assembly plant in Thika and the car is on sale now starting at Sh1.65 million.
3. Mobius II
This is the latest car manufacturing project in Kenya. Mobius Motors delivered a very sleek-looking car by all standards, especially for their price range.
The new Mobius starts at Sh1.3 million for the 2-seat cargo carrier. There’s also a 5-seater version called ‘Adventure’ which is going for Sh1.45 million.
This all-terrain machine comes with an impressive 1800 cc Engine and an option of 3 colors and the only available ones have a manual transmission.
