Uganda Startup Touts Hybrid Vehicles

Kiira Motors Corp., a startup company based outside Kampala, Uganda, hopes to become the country's first domestic maker of electric and hybrid vehicles, The Wall Street Journal reports.

CEO Paul Musasizi, a 36-year-old electrical engineer, says Kiira Motors aims to have capacity to build as many as 7,000 hybrid passenger vans and midsize Smack coupes per year by 2018.

But the company faces formidable hurdles. Among them are finding $400 million to build a production plant, the country's weak supply chain, poor roads, the an unreliable electrical grid and a national car market that generates only about 4,000 new-car sales per year.

Musasizi is fiercely optimistic. "This is about building a better Uganda through automotive technology," he tells the Journal. "We need to remain focused, courageous and committed."

The potential for a local carmaker in Uganda is good, because imported vehicles to the landlocked country are costly, the Journal point out. Musasizi hopes to sell his cars for less than $20,000 each.

Kiira Motors has attracted $51 million from the government. In June the company signed an agreement with India's Ashok Leyland Ltd. to jointly make passenger vans. Musasizi says he also is in advanced talks with Chinese investors.