INTRODUCTION
Everybody looked on in awe as the car was driven around the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Nairobi. Someone standing next to me exclaimed, “It’s almost as if that car is floating in the air.” They had good reason to say so because the sound coming out of the engine could not be described by words. The engine was so silent that if the car was behind you, you would not hear a thing.
Ladies and gentlemen, this was the debut of the Kiira EV SMACK, the first African hybrid vehicle manufactured by Uganda for East Africa and the world. A hybrid vehicle simply means that the car can have both a normal engine (internal combustion engine) and an electric engine powered by induction motors. How the car works is beyond the scope of this article but will be explained on request.
The idea about building this car for a worldwide market was simply pure genius. The car solves many problems in society amongst them pollution and fuel energy conservation, the critical areas that modern society need to look at if they seek to solve the immediate environmental problems facing us.
THE TEAM
The team that made this possible was a group that consisted of Ugandan professors, lecturers, graduates and students among others. At first, I thought these people were the Einsteins of today and to this end, I was not mistaken. They were bright, no doubt about that, but what struck me the most was the humility, understanding, and wisdom they portrayed during their stay here in Kenya.
THE CAR
As was earlier mentioned the car is a hyb
The chassis was made from mild steel which would make the car a bit heavy. No matter, the fuel engine capacity is 2.0 Liters petrol and the electric engine has a charge capacity of 32 kilometers when running on batteries alone. The car has a top speed of 170-185 Kph.rid vehicle. The body was forged by hand while the leather interior was stitched by hand as well.
What if the charge runs out? No worries, because the car is charged by a 3 
pin wall socket and 240 volts, the kind you normally find in houses. However, it takes four hours to charge the batteries fully. So you might want to get some coffee before you are back on the road. The engineers have designed the car in such a way that it is charged automatically by the fuel engine when the car reaches a speed of 50 Kph. So you don’t have to worry about low charge when driving for long distances.
PARTING SHOT
As a fan of cars, this one particularly amazes me. Africa finally has a place in the automotive industry, thanks to the brilliant innovations from Uganda. See also article in the Daily Nation about the KIIRA EV – http://goo.gl/YXwskl
THE KIIRA ATB TEAM.
