Mobius Motors, a Kenyan auto assembly company, has declared bankruptcy due to financial difficulties.
Nicolas Guibert, the director of Mobius, announced the voluntary insolvency of the company’s creditors on Monday, citing a stakeholder meeting as the basis for the decision.
The process of liquidation entails closing a company and giving its assets to the interested parties. It happens when a business is unable to pay its debts due to insolvency.
Guibert announced that KVSK Sastry has been assigned to manage the process of liquidation.
The notice stated, “At a meeting of the shareholders held on 5-Aug-2024, it was resolved to place the company under liquidation as per Section 393(1) (b) of the Insolvency Act and to appoint KVSK Sastry as the liquidator to wind up the company.”
He further said that on Friday, August 9, at Mobius’s corporate office in Nairobi’s Sameer Business Park, a list of creditors and proxy forms will be made available for inspection.
The residual assets of the business are used during liquidation to settle shareholder and creditor claims in order of priority.
British entrepreneur Joel Jackson established Mobius Motors in 2010, and the company manufactured its first vehicle in 2011.
Kenyans responded differently to the Mobius I prototype; some were offended by its simplistic appearance.
The manufacturer then released the Mobius II and Mobius III models, which are more elegant but yet tough SUVs that will retail for Ksh. 1.5 million and Ksh. 3.9 million, respectively, as of 2022.
Playfair Capital supported Mobius, and the UK-based venture capital firm contributed $50 million to the startup in 2019.
It has additionally benefited from funding throughout the years from PanAfrican Investment, a private investment organization, Chandaria Industries, and the US International Development Finance Corporation.
The government of Kenya has been working to increase local vehicle assembly in order to draw investments from international manufacturers like Volkswagen. Currently, used cars imported from Japan dominate Kenya’s automotive market.
