A Tunisian carmaker is betting the sun can help sell electric vehicles in Africa.
Bako Motors is rolling out two solar-powered EVs in Tunisia: a small delivery vehicle called the B-Van and a two-seater passenger car called the Bee. The company is already manufacturing the models and selling them in showrooms on the continent.
CNN reported the market for EVs in Africa is predicted to reach several billion dollars by the end of the decade. Many countries in Africa import most of their vehicles.
Bako Motors is pitching its cars into a market with a big obstacle for electric transport. Charging infrastructure is largely absent, limiting the wider use of EVs. The company’s answer is to use solar panels on the roof of each vehicle.
With those panels, a Bako vehicle can get 50 kilometres of charge per day for free, according to the source text. That extra energy can improve dependability in places without charging points.
“The solar cells provide us with more than 50% of our needs,” Boubaker Siala, founder and CEO of Bako Motors, told CNN.
“For example, the B-Van, for commercial use, you can have free energy for about 50 kilometers per day… 17,000 kilometers (10,563 miles) per year. It’s huge.”
The company says about 40 percent of the material used in each vehicle is sourced from the continent. That includes the lithium-iron-phosphate batteries and steel.
Price is a major part of Bako Motors’ pitch. The B-Van costs about 25,000 Tunisian dinar, or $8,500. The Bee is priced at $6,200.
The vehicles are not built for speed. The source text says the Bee has a top speed lower than many of the continent’s petrol-powered mopeds. But Bako is leaning on lower running costs instead. A day in the sun can charge more than two-thirds of the Bee’s battery, according to the source text, which could mean substantial savings in fuel and electricity.
The B-Van is aimed at commercial users. It can carry 363 kilograms of cargo and has a range of up to 261 kilometres. The source text says it is designed for last-mile delivery and artisanal market businesses.
Bako Motors’ publicity video for the B-Van was shot in Sidi Bou Said, near Carthage, according to the source text. It cites the whitewashed streets there as an example of the kind of setting where artisanal market businesses flourish.
The company has already moved past some of the toughest early steps. The source text says the design work and the construction of manufacturing facilities are complete. Bako Motors now needs its plants in Saudi Arabia and Tunisia to run at nameplate capacity.
Its target is to produce 8,000 vehicles for cities across the continent, with eventual exports to Europe also part of the plan.
Siala says the company sees a large opening in the African market.
“The addressable market in Africa is about 1 million vehicles per year. We have to prepare ourselves for this transition (and) offer affordable and good products for the African citizen,” says Siala. “We are targeting maybe 5 to 10% of this market.”
