A few days ago, Kiira Motors from Uganda sent one of its electric coaches on a 30-day ‘Made in Uganda Grand Trans-Africa Electric Expedition’ covering 13,000 kilometres through six African countries, including Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, Eswatini and South Africa. According to the initiators, the tour was undertaken to demonstrate the potential of e-mobility.
Kiira Motors is posting regular updates on the expedition on LinkedIn. The first 1,000 kilometres have been completed, with the current mileage standing at 1,897 km, meaning that 14.59% of the expedition has been completed.
That is not all the data that the drivers are providing, as they also shared their avoided CO₂ emissions, standing at 907.5 kg. Furthermore, the energy consumed so far stands at 1,650 kWh. The energy consumption rate so far has been about 0.87 kWh/km on average. Finally, and possibly most importantly, the safety record so far shows a total of zero incidents. Currently, the bus has reached Mbeya, marking the last stretch of our journey through Tanzania.
Image: Kiira Motors
Image: Kiira Motors
Image: Kiira Motors
The bus model with which Kiira is conducting the trip is one of their own: The 2025 Kayoola E-Coach 13M Model is described as a “premium inter-city, high-floor electric bus aimed at addressing the need for novel and innovative transportation.” Fully electric, the bus delivers a maximum power of 400 kW and a torque of 5,000 Nm. The 422-kWh battery allows for a driving range of 500 kilometres per charge. Its top speed stands at 100 kph. It seats up to 64 passengers.
This is not the first major journey across Africa with an electric vehicle, as motorcycle manufacturer Roam also conducted a similar experiment with an electric motorcycle last year. During this journey, the Kenyan electric motorcycle manufacturer Roam completed a 6,000-kilometre journey from Nairobi to Stellenbosch in South Africa. Notably, the fully electric Roam Air motorcycle was able to rely entirely on solar charging for the trip. This was achievable as the bike was accompanied by two solar-powered support vehicles.
linkedin.com, cleantechnica.com, newvision.co.ug
