Mitsui and Co. Ltd, the Japanese electric auto manufacturing company on Friday launched an assembly plant in Ethiopia for its electric car (E-Trike).
The company has made a successful trial for a three-wheels electric car in Addis Ababa. It has invested about $10 million to operate the project including the costs of installing facilities and labor in Ethiopia, according to Hajime Miyake, E-Trike Manager of Business Development Department. “E-Trike will have huge importance to reduce environmental pollution and hasten the trade relations between Ethiopia and Japan,” he said.
The company indicated that E-Trike consumes 7.3-kilowatt electric power per hour, according to the state news agency ENA. It can ride 80 kilometers after fully charging its battery for six to seven hours. The company’s official also stated that the battery will have a lifetime of one and half year and can be replaced by other fully charged battery.
Ethiopia’s Minister of Transport Dagmawit Moges who attended the launched also indicated that the electric car launched by the Japanese company is in line with the green economic policy and creating job opportunity.
It is recalled that in April 2015 the Japanese company has also begun mass producing electric tricycles in the Philippines.