Moses Ziyambi

Fledgling Pan-African car manufacturer Mureza Auto is already envisioning its place in a greener auto future as the industry trudges away from internal combustion engines towards electrical vehicles, EnviroPress can report.

The car maker has for several times postponed the launch of its groundbreaking brands including the much publicized Prim8 edition ostensibly to improve designs and give room for product testing.

The much-anticipated Prim8 – pronounced Primate – was initially expected to hit the market as early as 2021.

EnviroPress recently caught up with Tatenda Mureza, the South Africa-based Zimbabwean entrepreneur Tatenda Mungofa who, together with two South African business partners, founded the vehicle manufacturing brand.

Mungofa said the brand aimed to lead efforts towards a future of vehicles that are driven by electric engines.

“We are aiming to be the leader in the green transition and we already have concepts we are working on for production. Our electrical vehicle products will be developed using locally-sourced raw materials like lithium, cobalt and graphite. There is a lot of innovation and technology we are also working on which will help us to be a relevant player in this industry transition,” said Mungofa.
He said a successful transition in which Mureza plays a leading role require the company to build the necessary charging equipment.
“Another key aspect is setting up an ecosystem of charging infrastructure and we are building an Africa wide network thanks to some strategic collaborations in other countries,” Mungofa said.
To help reduce its carbon footprint as part of measures to fight climate change, the European Union, which is a huge vehicle manufacturer and market, has already directed that no passenger vehicles will be made or sold in its member countries beyond 2035.
In light of that, it is difficult to imagine poorer regions like Africa being able to continue with internal combustion engines without the goodwill of Europe, a major source of components.
Mureza said the Prim8 and other models will be released in early 2024 to give the African motoring public a feel of a home-grown auto brand.
“We will be rolling out the first batch of deliveries to the public in the first quarter of 2024. The Prim8 will be one of our models and we are working on other SUV and pickup models to offer variety to consumers. These models will also be available to pre-orders via our website soon.”
“If consumers are interested in any of our vehicle products, we guarantee they will experience the best of African engineering and quality. We also offer the most affordable vehicles and believe there is really no competition with us when it comes to value for money.
“We design and manufacture our own components. Our main unique selling point is that we are the only African car manufacturing company that creates its own intellectual property (IP). In South Africa, we will be launching a Supplier Development Program (SDP) aimed at upskilling and training SMEs and entrepreneurs interested in being part of our local value chain. The SKD and CKD phases will be essential in our processes and will be key in implementing our production plans,” Mungofa said.
He said Mureza was planning to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) in order “to give an opportunity to African and international investors to be part of an inspiring legacy of African industrialization by owning a share of the company.”
He said the company has already secured a well-established investment partner as an underwriter for its listing which he hinted will happen in the next 24 months.