Mobius Motors, Kenya budget-friendly SUV, to shut down

Mobius Motors, a Kenya-based automobile maker backed by Playfair capital has made a decision to liquidate the company after efforts to save the company in the past year have failed. The company has recently faced struggles pay employees as well as settling creditors and suppliers, which has led to a mountain of debt.

The company director Nicolas Guibert noted in a notice on Tuesday morning that they had met and decided liquidating the company was a better option.

“At a meeting of the shareholders held on 5 August 2024, it was resolved to place the company under liquidation as per Section 393(1) (b) of the Insolvency Act and appoint KVSK Sastry as the liquidator to wind up the company,” said Guibert

Mobius, which raised $56 million in five funding rounds, manufactured affordable SUVs that targeted SME infrastructure, agro businesses in remote areas that needed vehicles that would withstand the rough terrains. 

Mobius Motors was founded in 2010 by Joel Jackson, a business strategist and management consultant. The company set out to build iconic SUV's manufacturing its first model in only 8 months. 

In 2015, the company began mass production following support from Playfair Capital, a UK-based venture capital firm. It also secured funding from Chandaria Industries, a Kenyan manufacturing company, the US government development corporation DFC, and PanAfrican Investment, a private investment firm.

It subsequently made 50 more units of the first generation model in 2014 which sold for Kes1.3 million ($10,000). The next model , the Mobius 2, was launched in 2018 and was sold at KShs. 1.5 million ($11.5 thousand) and its most recent model, Mobius 3, has a price tag of KShs. 3.95 million, excluding VAT.

It is still unclear what will happen to the company's customers, who might still need access to spare parts and aftermarket support for some of their vehicles out there.