Kiira Motors Corporation, a Ugandan vehicle manufacturer, has announced that its Kayoola E-Coach 13M electric bus finished a two-month journey covering over 13,700 kilometers through six African nations. The bus left Namboole Stadium in Uganda on November 20, 2025, and returned on December 28.
The route took the electric coach through Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, Eswatini and South Africa. According to Kiira Motors officials, this is the longest electric bus trip ever completed in Africa.
“This expedition proves that Africa can design, build and deploy world-class electric mobility solutions,” said Paul Isaac Musasizi, Founding Chief Executive Officer of Kiira Motors Corporation.
The journey served as a practical test of whether African-made electric vehicles can work reliably across different weather conditions, road types, and elevation changes throughout the region.
Performance data from the trip showed promising results. The electric bus used about 9,600 kilowatt-hours of electricity during the entire journey, averaging 0.79 kWh per kilometer. Kiira Motors calculated that using electricity instead of diesel prevented more than 5.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
Uganda’s government supported the expedition as part of its plan to build local industries and promote environmentally-friendly transportation. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has publicly supported Kiira Motors as an important example of Ugandan manufacturing.
The project started at Makerere University before growing into a commercial operation. The National Enterprise Corporation helped develop the company and built its vehicle factory in Jinja.
MTN Uganda, a mobile phone company, provided technology support during the trip. They supplied internet connectivity for tracking the bus and enabled mobile money payments across borders.
“The Pearl to Cape Expedition has shown that Africa’s green mobility future can be digitally connected, efficient and scalable,” Kiira Motors said in a statement.
The company thanked government officials in all six countries for helping the bus cross international borders smoothly.
Experts who study the vehicle industry say this successful trip strengthens Uganda’s growing role in African electric vehicle production. They believe it provides evidence that electric buses could work well for public transportation throughout Africa.
Kiira Motors indicated this expedition is just the start of broader changes ahead. “The future of Africa is electric,” Musasizi said. “And Africa is building it.”
