Industry

Kenya’s Mobius car sells out new generation model

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Kenyan locally assembled Mobius II vehicle model. PHOTO | MOBIUS.COM

Locally assembled all weather roads vehicle Mobius Wednesday said its Mobius II model orders had exceeded target, signalling rising appetite for the car.

Mobius said all the 50 first generation units of the vehicle, which prides itself in being Africa’s cheapest, had sold out forcing it to double production to at least 100 units for the Mobius II to meet increased demand.

Mobius Motors commercial director Markus Schroder said that besides local orders, the automaker has received interest from neighbouring countries, Europe and the US.

“This first production run of the new Mobius II with an initial batch of 50 units is already over-subscribed with pre-orders. All 50 units of the first generation were sold last year,” said Dr Schroder, adding that production of Mobius II (next generation) will start with a low three-digit figure.

“We plan to increase production over time and significantly ramp it up as we generate market interest,” he said.

The majority of pre-orders are from Kenya, but a number of requests have also come from Germany and the US as well as from Tanzania and Uganda, Dr Schroder said.

The first Mobius II next generation pre-order was made in August last year after the first generation model sold out.

READ: Kenyan carmaker taking orders for Mobius II

Rough terrain

Mobius Motors was founded in 2009 by British entrepreneur Joel Jackson - who settled in Kilifi, Mombasa and now Nairobi – to address the rough terrain and long distances market, especially in rural Kenya.

The Mobius II generation, which comes in three models, is expected to hit the road early next year with its most expensive unit (Mobius Adventure Plus) retailing at Sh1.58 million, inclusive of tax.

Dr Schroder said functionality on the road is what differentiates the three models – Cargo, Adventure and Adventure Plus – from one another.

Cargo is the entry model and focuses on functionality for transportation with a starting price of Sh1.3 million, inclusive of Value Added Tax. It is available in black only.

The Adventure model, which is available in black and dark blue comes with high capacity all-terrain tyres, a rear mounted spare wheel, double bar front and rear bumpers.

It also has three additional rear seats in comparison to the Cargo version and is available at Sh1.45 million.

READ: New model of Kenyan made vehicle Mobius to cost Sh1.3m

The Adventure Plus – premier model - is available in black, dark blue and in light blue colours.

It comes with alloy rims, an air condition system, aluminum side steps and an infotainment system with an eight inch touch screen as standard equipment. 
All the three models are fitted with 1800 cc engines.

Dr Schroder said his company will be recruiting a complete production team to ensure faster production of the new 100 units.

The team will include material handlers, fabricators, body shop technicians, paint shop operators, general assembly, and quality assurance persons. 

To place an order for the next generation Mobius II, one has to deposit an initial Sh50,000 that is refundable if one changes their mind about the purchase.

READ: Kenya-assembled vehicles hit 10,000 units on tax incentive