Autopax Air Yetu electric car was founded by Kenyan businessman Isaac Kalua Green, who is also an environmentalist. It costs approximately KSh1.7 million.
President William Ruto drove the Autopax Air Yetu electric car during the Africa Climate Summit at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Nairobi.
It was estimated that the Autopax helps the owner to reduce operation costs by about 60 percent, as compared to petrol-powered cars.
The head of state on Sunday, September 3 led by example, by driving himself to the KICC in the Autopax Air Yetu car.
“President Ruto leads by example, driving himself to KICC in an electric car and an all-electric motorcade to connect with Africa’s Youth on their climate declaration ahead of the Africa Climate Summit tomorrow,” said Hussein Mohamed, the State House Spokesperson.
Kibibi Mkumba, who is the company’s operations manager said the model driven by President Ruto was Autopax AirEv YETU Pro.
According to the founder, it covers 300 kilometers on a full charge and could move for additional kilometers depending on the driver’s skills.
Autopax electric car is manufactured in Liuzhou, China and assembled in Nairobi.
According to the founder, the car is more economical and cheaper to maintain than petrol-powered ones.
President William Ruto noted that the electric car was more environmentally friendly, adding that the invention was in the right direction towards reducing carbon emissions.
Additionally, the cost of charging the car for long-distance travel is much cheaper as compared to the cost of petrol.
Currently, there exist very few registered electric vehicles in Kenya, basically operating in Nairobi.
Trade cabinet secretary Moses Kuria had earlier hinted that the government was planning to launch more electric vehicles in the country through partnerships.
