Kenyan company secures funding to launch all-purpose vehicle

May 19, 2014
A small Kenyan company called Mobius Motors has announced it has secured the necessary funding to start production of the Mobius Two, a boxy two-door vehicle designed specifically for the rough roads of rural Africa. The bulk of the funding was provided by a New York-based private investment firm called PanAfrican Investment Company.

Spartan at best, the Mobius Two can accommodate between six and eight adults thanks in part to two bench seats installed over the rear wheel arches. Alternatively, it can be transformed into a pickup with an 1,100-pound payload by simply folding down the rear seats.

The off-roader’s body sits on a tubular steel frame that can be safely welded back together if broken, eliminating the need for expensive tools and machines. Precise technical details are not available but Mobius chose to fit the Two with a Toyota-sourced gasoline-burning four-cylinder engine because it returns good gas mileage and local mechanics are already familiar with it. The mill sends power to all four wheels via a five-speed manual transmission.

About 35 percent of the parts required to build the Mobius Two are sourced locally. Mobius expects the figure to grow as production increases.

Mobius founder Joel Jackson, a British computer engineer, hopes to build at least 50 examples of the Two before the year ends and launch an evolution of it called Mobius Three in 2016. The Two will retail for about 950,000 Kenyan Shillings, a sum that converts to nearly $11,000.

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