3 jan 22
Fil d'Actus

Opibus wins contract with Uber for electric motorcycles in Africa

Uber driver on an Opibus electric motorcycle outside an Uber office in Kenya

Following the completion of a successful pilot program in 2021, Swedish-Kenyan EV maker Opibus has formed a strategic partnership with Uber to scale the use of electric motorcycles.

Uber’s platform is already up and working across Africa, so the aim of the collaboration is to simplify the deployment of electric motorcycles across the Continent. 3,000 electric motorcycles will be supplied to Uber by Opibus in 2022 to meet the demand from the ride-hailing company’s drivers.

Opibus has developed and launched the first electric motorcycle in Africa, tailored to offer performance adapted to local infrastructure and environmental conditions. The motorcycle is built around the concept of a dual, swappable battery pack.

Mikael Gånge, Co-Founder and Chief Sales Officer, Opibus, commented: “We're seeing a huge demand for locally designed electric motorcycles on the African continent, and by working with UBER we've now been able to prove the feasibility for large scale deployment. Next year [2022] we're scaling up our production to meet the market demand, both in Kenya and in the region.”

Commenting on the benefits for drivers Ronald Ogachi Zablon, UberBoda, said: “It has changed the whole way I drive. The motorbike requires no change of mechanical gears, it’s very easy to drive. I was impressed with the instant speed on startup. It also has a big carrier, which makes it convenient for luggage transportation and a bigger onboard capacity for passengers. Normally, it’s hard to communicate while on transit because of how noisy motorbikes are, but this particular motorbike by Opibus is silent. I can talk to passengers and it's even designed and built in Kenya.

Image courtesy of Opibus.

Authored by: Alison Pittaway