A Toyota concept car called the "Hybrid I", which uses a hybrid engine and drive-by-wire technology is seen at the British International Motorshow in London's Excel centre. PHOTO | ANDREW WINNING | AFP
The saying used to go that the car in front of you is always a Toyota. Now it’s mostly a hybrid. The half-siblings of electric vehicles (EVs). The popular ones? Toyota Prius Hybrid, Honda Insight Hybrid, Honda Fit Hybrid, and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle). Those are the shiny new toys on the block that are steadily steering Kenya’s automobile market.
And rightly so. Kenyans have a peculiar habit of depending on referrals. Word of mouth still remains the best form of advertising in the country – especially when you have a good product. And the word on the street is to get your hands on a hybrid car.
“There is a lot of hype about electric cars, especially with the rising cost of fuel. And of course, this has also been buoyed by the conversation around climate change,” says Marvin Gakunyi, a car aficionado.
Electric vehicles are any vehicle that contains a battery-powered electric motor within. If it’s all-electric, or pure electric, it’s called a battery-electric vehicle also known as an ‘EV.’
There are however three types of hybrid vehicles. “Plug-in hybrid where you charge it the way you’d charge, say a torch. A mild hybrid where you drive the car and it recharges itself.
And then there is the hybrid that uses the engine to charge the batteries,” says Alex Mwanzo, co-founder of Space ya Magari, (a Digital platform that connects car enthusiasts together every Monday on the Twitter Spaces Platform) and an automobile consultant.
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) varieties can operate entirely on battery thrust and are usually more affordable due to their smaller batteries. Additionally, they do not have to be plugged in for many hours to be fully charged, and can also be complemented by their petrol or diesel internal combustion engine (ICE), eliminating the “range anxiety” that keeps many people from buying electric cars.
Mild hybrids are rarer and use an electric motor to “assist” the main engine when needed.
Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV) have self-charging batteries in a process that is referred to as “regenerative braking”. Here, kinetic energy that’s captured when the car slows down or stops is either sent straight to the wheels or stored in the battery for future use.
What to look for in a hybrid
The [Toyota] Prius is a common sight on the roads but there is a wide variety of hybrids from the Honda Fit to the Toyota Fielder and even luxury cars like the Mercedes S-Class and Lexus RX 450h.
Amadi Andrew, a specialised car dealer says that there has been a shift with respect to hybrid cars. “The hybrids are moving at a fast rate,” he says, but then proceeds to throw a wet blanket on budding hope. “When it comes to disposing of hybrids, their resale value is quite low. The lifetime of a hybrid is usually between 150,000 and 200,000 kilometres.”
That’s because you need to replace their battery packs, and they do not come cheap. For instance, it can cost between Sh200,000 and Sh500,000 to replace a Toyota Prius battery.
For about Sh200,000 to Sh300,000 more than their petrol/diesel ICE counterparts, you’d land yourself a good hybrid car.
His sentiments are echoed by Alex who notes that the uptake in hybrid cars is universal and Kenya is still at the nascent stage.
“When fuel goes up, Kenyans being Kenyans will find a way to mitigate the costs. We like to copy each other. If one person comes with a hybrid and waxes lyrical about it, they will influence you to also move to hybrid vehicles.” That also explains the droves of car clubs in the country.
“Most Japanese hybrids are what is moving in Kenya, and this is despite most car models having a hybrid unit as well.” And no, he says, not specifically because of altruistic reasons. “Climate change is a factor but putting food on my table is more important as a car user. Every other thing is a lesser priority than saving costs.”
Which is why you would be hard-pressed not to see the value of hybrid cars. What’s more, electric vehicles have fewer parts than vehicles with combustion engines. Therefore, they’re often easier and cheaper to maintain and are much more economical to run over time, well, depending on how you use them. And when you bought it.
To buy a good hybrid car, Marvin says while mileage is important, be wary because most dealers have been tampering with the odometer readings. “Consult a lot and seek experts to check the life of the battery. Anything below 70 percent is not a healthy car.”
Most car manufacturers guarantee the batteries in electric vehicles for eight years, or between 160,000km to 200,000km. However, Marvin remains skeptical.
“It’s a mixed bag because the amount of energy required to produce one battery pack kind of negates its positives,” he adds. “But I understand the allure because some cars on a single charge can even take you over 250 kilometres.”
He notes that some cars take long in production, wagging an accusatory finger at the battery supply. It’s not a unique problem. Globally, automakers are struggling to ramp up electric-vehicle production because the supply of batteries is not growing fast enough.
Alex spells doom for mechanics. “Your normal mechanics are about to be disenfranchised. Now, most vehicles require just a computer for you to diagnose the problem. With more wires, the age of the traditional mechanic is about to be phased out, unless they adapt to new ways of fixing things.”
There is always the pressure to be in a community. With the rise of hybrid cars, are we about to upend the traditional pecking order? Or is this just a fad, albeit a growing one?
“If you are looking for a hybrid car, first consider, why do you want the car? If you are doing long-distance, a hybrid is not for you. And then again, consider proper mechanics. More importantly, check the batteries, that’s the juice of the car?”
What it will cost you
The prices of popular hybrid cars in Kenya range from as low as Sh800,000 for Honda Insight 2011 model to as high as Sh6.8 million for the newer models of Mitsubishi Outlander HPEV.
South Africa is the largest market for EVs in Africa with about 1,000 in operation in 2022, out of a total of 12 million automobiles. Kenya has an estimated 350 EVs, out of 2.2 million registered vehicles.
In March, start-up BasiGo launched an electric passenger bus in Kenya, with the buses able to commute up to 250 kilometres on a single charge. Other companies leading the EV shift include BasiGo, Kiri, EVM Africa, Caetano, Agilitee Africa, Opibus, and Nopea Ride.
