- While it is built like other tuk-tuks, the electric-powered model is faster, with a speed of over 60 km/hr
- Kenya is looking to fully move towards the use of electric buses by 2027
Image: JOHN KAMAU
Zetech University has unveiled an electric powered tuk-tuk in a step towards improving the transport sector and reducing carbon emissions.
Prof Gitau Kamau, a lecturer at the university, said the engineless tuk-tuk has rechargeable batteries that can last for more than 100 km.
Solar panels integrated across its roof harness energy.
"We have assembled the tuk-tuk, put in electric motors and solar panels to recharge its batteries once they get drained. It is noiseless, cost effective and clean," the professor said during the university's Innovation week.
While it is built like other tuk-tuks, the electric-powered model is faster, with a speed of over 60 km/hr.
The cost is also slightly higher than the normal tuk-tuks, at Sh450,000.
Kamau's motivation is to provide an efficient and eco-friendly mode of transport, reducing reliance on conventional fuels and minimising environmental impact.
"The vehicle doesn't use fuel thus reducing carbon emissions as well as making it cost-effective, during this time when the cost of fuel is high," he said.
The innovation is yet to be released into the market.
Kamau cited the high cost of e-mobility equipment used to assemble the vehicle as a major challenge in the mass production of tuk-tuks.
To make it cheaper to manufacture, the professor urged the government to come up with policies that support adoption of e-mobility and eliminate excise duty on body parts.
"The tuk-tuks are made of steel, which is quite expensive. If only its cost and that of other accessories can be lowered, the mass production of the tuk-tuks can be cheaper and easy."
Spaces in the Special Economic Zones should be set aside for the assembly of body parts.
"E-mobility is the way to go and the government has been categorical that by 2027, most of the vehicles will be electric. In order to achieve this, there should be policies in place that support e-mobility," Kamau said.
He said county governments should allow tuk-tuks to park and operate freely within CBDs as they are beneficial to carbon credit trading.
Kenya is looking to fully move towards the use of electric buses by 2027.
This is in line with the government’s agenda of transforming the transport industry through reduction of carbon emissions to mitigate effects of climate change.
Former Investment, Trade and Industrialisation CS Rebecca Maino said to achieve this, the ministry launched the Draft National Electric Mobility Policy.
The policy proposes the establishment of incentives to increase the uptake of electric vehicles.
This includes the reduction of excise duty on electric-powered vehicles to 10 per cent, as in the Finance Act, 2023.
Other efforts, she said, are the revision of the Integrated National Transport Policy (2009) to accommodate electric vehicles and the requisite infrastructure.
The development of an Automotive Policy to stimulate assembly and manufacture, with a specific focus on electric vehicles, also mark part of the efforts.