ELECTRIC CARS HERE
Mogoditshane-based business AT Bus and Truck Body Builders has finally managed to manufacture an electric car of wanted speed and the cars are now ready for purchase.
Following their failed attempts last year when they manufactured a car of 70km/h speed only for government to reject it because it was “too slow,” the company now has cars of 120-150km/h speed.
AT Bus and Truck Body Builders has even successfully managed to register their higher speed vehicle with the Department of Road Transport and Safety (DRTS).
When The Midweek Sun team visited the plant, they found several Nissan model electric cars displayed outside with price tags attached to them.
Company General Manager Milton Mbaiwa was quick to explain that although the process of manufacturing electric cars took longer than expected, they have finally made a breakthrough.
Their cars are now ready for purchase, the registration process is still a bit cumbersome he said, however, they are happy that they have finally managed to get one of their cars registered. This means that they are ready to sell.
Their 5-seater cars, he said, are comfortable to ride on and very friendly to the pocket as well.
The cars they have in stock currently cost P78 000. “After buying the car, the owner will not have to worry about major maintenance costs that come three to four times a year when using fuel cars depending on usage. With electric cars, one can go one to two years without being forced to replace anything. These cars have no engines, meaning it is less complicated to use," he said.
The cars use battery and once fully-charged, they travel a total distance of 200km before they can be recharged,” Mbaiwa explained.
He added that the cars are charged using a super charge hence drivers will not wait a long time for their cars to be fully charged. The waiting period is between 10-30 minutes for a full charge.
“The amount of time one takes fuelling petrol will be the amount of time one takes to recharge and then continue with their journey. But the difference will be that when others pay P800 to P1 200 for a full tank of petrol or diesel, electric car owners will pay less than P100 for a full charge,” Mbaiwa explained.
The company GM further explained that provisions are already being made in several fuel stations to have points where electric cars can equally recharge without a struggle.
And just like other cars, a driver will need to always top up at a nearby fuel station when on a long journey to avoid running out of power in areas with no fuelling stations.
Alternatively, drivers will be able to fuel even at home. This means that in the absence of a fuel station and a driver gets stranded, they can ask for help from nearby homesteads.
However, home charging will take longer, approximately 2-4 hours.
AT Bus and Truck Body Builders also have a hybrid type that uses both petrol and electricity. With this type of car, when driving at 40km/h, it uses electricity for power while anything above 40km/h the car automatically restarts the engine to use petrol or diesel.
Partner in the business Jamil Ahmed told this publication last year that they first developed interest in electrical cars after travelling to China for a bus expo in 2010.
“They were displaying buses there. We then saw an electric bus and also got to see electric taxis and other vehicles. My interest got aroused and we visited other cities like Dubai and Pakistan to get in-depth knowledge about electric cars,” he said.
In 2019, they were back in China buying electric car kits and batteries. They began assembling the electric car in 2020.
Speaking from United Arab Emirates, Dubai, this week where they are engrossed in a week-long workshop about electric cars, Ahmed said the intention is to have his dream realised.
The desire to start production of electric cars in Botswana was fueled by President Mokgweetsi Masisi during the 2019 election campaign when he said he wants the country to produce electric cars for both local and international markets.