Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS)

Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) will tomorrow test and inspect the first-ever local made electric car to test if it meets the country’s standards before granting certification and issuing a licence for mass production.

This was said by the TBS Standards Manager Yona Afrika said in Dar es Salaam over the weekend after visiting the Kaypee Motors Workshop located at the Small Industries Development Organisation (SIDO) along Nyerere road.

“The local made electric car is the first in the country and Africa and TBS will use international standards to taste its quality before providing certification and licence for mass manufacturing,” he said.

A 49-year-old cartoonist, radio producer and radio presenter Ally Masoud unveiled his locally made electric car in Dar es Salaam recently.

Mr Afrika added, “We have agreed with Mr Masoud to bring the car to the TBS offices for testing its quality and standards and if it meets the national's standards, will be issued with a licence to start mass production,”

He said there are already set up standards for three-wheel electric motorcycles but it is the first time for TBS to taste the quality and standard of a local made electric car made by a Tanzania.

He said TBS will use the international standards that are available in the international library for standards to test the quality and standards of the local made electric car.

The TBS Quality Control Manager Baraka Mbajije commended Kaypee Motors for the stage reached in making the electric car and from here TBS will taste its quality and standards before entering the market.

“The process of testing the electric car will also involve checking the quality of metals used in making the car and from there we will advise him accordingly,” he noted.

On his part, Mr Masoud hailed the stage reached by Kaypee Motors in making the first electric car in the country under the guidance of SIDO and the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH).

He said his company has been receiving full support from the government through the Tanzania Investment Center (TIC) and COSTECH.

“We are pleased with the way the government, Tanzanians and TBS received in the launching of the new electric car in the country,” he said.

He said an important component for making an electric vehicle apart from the body of the car is the engine.

Since Tanzania does not have this technology for making the engine, Kaypee Motors bought it from outside the country for reasonable prices. The chassis and body were procured locally.

He said his journey to making the electric car began in 2013 when he started thinking about those questions and he first designed a small truck which he resolved to make.

He said Kaypee Motors has started receiving some orders, adding that his company is trying to solicit funds for machines to enable it to go for mass production.