First electric car arrives in Malawi

The much-touted electric car is in town, owned by the head teacher at St Andrew’s International High School in Blantyre. The car, a Mitsubishi I Miev 2012 model, arrived in Malawi three weeks ago from United Kingdom (UK). Kieron Smith, owner of the car, said in an interview on Friday that he bought the car two years ago at 13 500 British pounds (about K11.5 million at the current exchange rate). According to Smith, when the car is electrically fully charged, he can drive it around Blantyre for about four days. He said the car—the first of its kind in Malawi as per Smith’s checking with Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA)—makes economic sense because it uses no plugs and no oil. Driving in it, as experienced by this reporter, the car makes no sound and picks up fast when accelerated.—Frank Namangale, Staff Writer.