ALGERIA: Electric car project seeks investors

African products made precisely in Algeria will soon be launched on the world market of electric vehicles. Oussama Touaba, the inventor of the first electric car 100% made in Algeria, intends to popularise his prototype on the national and international market. For this purpose, the researcher from the Centre for the Development of Renewable Energies (CDER) in Algiers hopes to find investors. Their financing could make it possible to launch the large-scale production of small electric cars for urban traffic, with an estimated unit production cost of 700,000 Algerian dinars (just under 4,800 euros).

Should the Algerian government abandon its plan to import electric cars in favour of local production?

Oussama Touaba’s prototype electric car is protected by a patent obtained from the National Institute of Industrial Property (Inapi). The small car is 2.5 metres long and can only accommodate two people (the driver and a passenger) on board. The vehicle also has the particularity of being extremely light, since its structure is made entirely of aluminum, giving it a featherweight of only 200 kilograms. Under the bonnet, it has two 1.7 horsepower engines with a maximum speed of 40 km/h. The eco-friendly vehicle does not emit carbon dioxide.

Oussama Touaba’s invention comes the day after the government announced a strategy to promote the import of electric cars. Indeed, during the Council of Ministers on March 22, 2020 at the Palace of Nations in Algiers, the Algerian president advocated the import of electric cars in his country, because of their ecological advantages. A need that Oussama Touaba intends to meet, especially since his electric car is designed for urban areas.

Eventually, the young inventor plans to improve the power system of his invention so that it can produce its own electricity from the sun.

Boris Ngounou