Faith Nyasuguta
Tanzania’s renowned cartoonist Masoud Kipanya has officially unveiled the country’s first locally made electric car.
The environmentally-friendly electric car has been dubbed Kaypee Motor.
The vehicle has been made from local materials and it requires six hours of charging to run between 50 to 60km, Mr Kipanya noted.
Presently, the car is yet to be approved for use on Tanzanian roads, but he is banking on getting a certification soon.
Speaking to BBC Swahili, Mr Kipanya said that people still don’t believe that he made the car which took him about 11 months to complete.
“This is a very powerful car that comes with its own charger and it is user friendly.”
“Let us not wait for foreigners to be doing these things for us,” he disclosed.
According to the cartoonist, he had spent a lot of money developing it but wants to sell it at a lower price from 8m Tanzanian shillings ($3,400; £2,600) to make it affordable to porters and distributors.
He said that he conceived the thought of developing the car some nine years ago.
