Dealer unveils country's first electric vehicles

Meta Electric General Manager Brian Chege showcases the electric charging port of the T3 Van (PHOTO: David Gichuru)

A partnership between a machinery dealership and Build Your Dreams (BYD), China based pioneer in battery technology has culminated to the launch of electric vans in the country.

Meta Electric, which is a business unit of Meta Group Africa unveiled the vans on Thursday which have been purposed for parcel delivery.

The T3 delivery vans were manufactured by BYD, which is a leading Chinese supplier of rechargeable batteries.

The vans, which is a frontier in the adoption of electric vehicles in the country have been delivered to Neo Kenya Mpya, a transport and logistic company in the country known for its public service vehicle arm of matatus operating across Nairobi, Kiambu and Machakos counties.

Neo Kenya Mpya Chief Executive Officer Douglas Kuria said acquisition of the vans makes them the pioneers in the courier delivery business in the country.

He said the vehicles will re-engineer the company’s 10 year old courier services with a point to point business model.

“We want to have electric buses, so this is an opportunity to get the electric know how, and experience so that towards 2024 we need such partnerships to push us to what we want to achieve,” he said.

Meta Electric General Manager Brian Chege, while unveiling the two vans, said there is already demand for electric commercial vehicles in the country.

“We believe the Kenyan industry is ready to switch to electric vehicles. Opportunities in the private sector are immense,” he said.

He said owning and driving the T3 electric van is not only cost effective for businesses but also contributes to cleaner air by aiding the fight against pollution, a topical climate change issue globally.

“EV’s help save on major costs compared to any internal combustion engine vehicle. They greatly reduce operating expenses as they beat the diesel competition hands down costing less than half for fuel, service, maintenance and, repairs at very reasonable mileage,” he said.

The T3 vans come with two charging options: the alternating current (AC) charger which takes eight hours and, direct current (DC) which takes one and a half hours. This full charge gives the vehicle a range of 300 kilometers or 250 kilometers if driven at 100 km/h.

The maximum payload is 720kg.