Kenya to assemble 130 Chinese electric buses in 2023

Passengers board one of the new electric buses introduced in Nairobi . [Samson Wire, Standard]

Kenyan automotive firm, Associated Vehicle Assemblers (AVA), said Tuesday that it will assemble 130 electric buses manufactured by Chinese automotive firm BYD in 2023.

Matt Lloyd, managing director of AVA, told Xinhua in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi that so far it has assembled 15 BYD electric buses for the local market that were imported as a collection of parts.

"The advantage of BYD is that it is one of the world's leaders in the manufacture of electric vehicles and the level of quality of the vehicles is very high," Lloyd said on the sidelines of an electric vehicle forum.

Lloyd observed that locally assembled BYD buses have high safety standards and will therefore enhance Kenya's overall road safety. He revealed that his firm has gained modern automotive technology through the technical advice it has received from BYD.