The much awaited electric car has finally landed in Kenya as Nopia ride, a fully electric taxi hailing company from Finland, seeking to set up in the country.JuhaSuojanen, the Chief Executive and founder of Ekorent, the firm behind electric taxi service Nopia Ride that is shaping conversation in Nairobi, says the firm seeks to benefit the driver first, then the customers will follow where drivers stand to earn between 30 to 50 percent more with the Nopiaride.
“The electric element makes our trips way cheaper compared to other apps and we take only 25% of what the driver makes,” said Suojanen.
Currently, an estimated 25% of the operational cost of online taxis in Kenya goes towards fuelling the vehicles. However, Juha says, users of the electric car can save up to Sh1.7 million by not fuelling in 30 months.
“One of the main components of operations in the taxi business is fuel, take that away and the driver is making more money at the end of the day,” said Suojanen.
“This is a big thing for Kenya and Finland. I hope to see fast progress in this initiative,” said Acting Ambassador RamasesMalaty – Embassy of Finland.
An official from the Ministry of Transport,Martin Eshiwani, said Kenya has been dealing with increasing upper respiratory health issues due to pollution and welcomed the lower emissions that the electric car represents.
“Kenyans believe that electric cars are so expensive. We need to educate them that they are not. We are happy as the Ministry of Transport that you have taken this bold initiative,” said Eshiwani during the launch of the car.
The company has installed a charging station at Two Rivers Mall with a plan of rolling out more cars and stations by the end of the year.
Asked why they chose Kenya to launch the electric car taxi hailing service, Juha says it is because Kenya is the home of mobile money services which Nopia Ride hopes to exploit. He further expressed confidence in the fact that Kenyans are already conversant with taxi-hailing apps and that Nairobi and Helsinki are literally one and the same place, timewise. Ekorent Africa now says it is targeting a fleet of 150 cars by end of 2019.