Ghana will witness the manufacture of its own electric cars from start to finish from January 2023.
This is a boost for the quest by the country to move towards the use of environmentally-friendly vehicles.
Manufacturers of the vehicle, Mana Mobility, have already engaged the Design and Technology Institute to partner in the manufacturing process.
Chief Executive of Mana Mobility Germany, Peter Scharzenbauer, told JoyBusiness that all regulatory bodies are being engaged to ensure a smooth take-off.
He was speaking after a stakeholder meeting to introduce the design and concept of the vehicle to some selected agencies in Accra last Friday.
“The cars will be developed, produced in Ghana by Ghanaians for Ghana. For the entire week, we have spent time working on how to make the right concept. We have experts coming in from all different kinds of areas.
“We have the Design and Technology Institute helping us find the right way of doing it. And the outcome was the car we just presented. The next steps are for the next five, six months, we are building some prototypes so we can also see in real life and not only in PowerPoint.”
After the engagement, the Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority, Professor Alex Dodoo, described the entry of Mana mobility into the country as timely.
He expressed confidence that it will create jobs for more artisans and other people in the automobile industry.
He, however, called for more support for the local artisans.
“We have the quality to check the quality of the vehicles. But importantly, we can develop the component.
“Now that is where we need to have a national conversation because that is where the money is. The guys are doing it, but we’re not doing it according to standards nor reproducing at scale.”