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Electric cars are surely becoming a thing now in many countries. And as much as this may be due to the strict new “green deal” policies being implemented in developed nations, it makes me wonder what it would be like to own one in Kenya. Don’t get me wrong, we are not that bad, but we could certainly do way better.
While waiting for such laws to be made here, the fact that even politicians can’t see to agree on a way to preserve the biggest forests in the country makes one almost give up. But we have brains and we imagine stuff. And with my growing love for the upcoming electric cars, let’s try and figure out what owning one, say, Tesla would be like in these Kenyan roads.
Cost
One thing Kenyans are not particularly known for is purchasing new cars. Almost every single car you see filling these roads has been owned before by some guy in a first-world country who then got rid of it because they wanted to upgrade. Yes, there are some really sweet-looking pieces out here but let’s be real here about the costs.
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Let’s say you are rich enough and you want a Tesla and you wanted to check out the latest models. The famous Model X (the one with Falcon doors) goes for about Kes.8.4 million. All this is minus the insanely high taxes that people pay to import a car. So, roughly you would be spending close to Kes.10 million to just have one car here or maybe even more. Don’t even get me started on the crazy prizes from other brands like Porsche.
Okay, let’s go the cheapest Model 3 that goes for about Kes.3.6 million. You will still have the taxes probably at the same rates as the Model X so roughly Kes.5 million.
Battery
Remember that this is an all-electric car that requires you to charge just like you do your phone. First of all, that would be awesome since that means goodbye to the ever-rising fuel charges and you get to be a part of the worthy course of reducing the amount of carbon emissions. But you would be required to have a charger at your home for the car. This is considering there are no supercharger terminals here so you might want to never be caught up with a low charge.
Moreover, I do not think long-distance travelling in the car. Yes, a single charge in a Model 3 lasts up to around 200 km if you are power efficient. But any distance more than that would certainly leave you in the street with a dead battery, well dead car.
Yes, there are a couple of electric Nissan Leafs out there, but how far do they travel? Plus, they do have their own charging terminals remember.
Software Updates
Tech-savvy individuals are aware that these cars rely on software for them to run efficiently as the driver desires. They also know how long it takes for basic software updates on computers to reach countries like this. Tesla issues out software updates to its electric car owners and despite how gimmicky they always seem to be, who wouldn’t want a first-hand experience to make their car better?
Owning an electric car is one thing that not many people are into even in the West. This is partly because of how silent they are as they have no fuel to burn and also the lack of trust surrounding heavily computerised stuff. Remember we didn’t even get to the insane Kenyan roads. Other than the hurdles, it would be a dream to see a couple on these roads.
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