End of an era as Mobius shuts down after 13-year drive
The Mobius 3 vehicle.
What you need to know:
- Mobius did not give reasons for the voluntary liquidation.
- Its exit, however, comes on the back of debts and tax disputes with KRA.
Kenya’s only homegrown automaker, Mobius Motors Kenya, is shutting down its operations, marking an end to its 13-year journey amid piling debts and a multi-million shilling tax dispute.
The firm said in a Tuesday morning notice that shareholders resolved in a meeting held on August 5 to liquidate the company.
“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,” said Nicolas Guibert, a director at Mobius, in a notice.
The firm did not give reasons for the voluntary liquidation. Its exit, however, comes on the back of debts and tax disputes with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).
Nicolas Guibert, a director at Mobius.
Mr Guibert said the list of creditors and proxy forms will be released for inspection on Friday, August 9, at Mobius’s head office at Sameer Business Park in Nairobi.
Mobius was founded in 2011 by British businessman Joel Jackson with the target to build cars for the African market. The first-generation, Mobius II, was launched in Kenya in 2015.
British businessman Joel Jackson.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta on the driver’s seat with Mobius founder Joel Jackson in 2014.
KRA in 2018 hit Mobius with a tax claim of Sh85.74 million based on assessments covering the period of January 2014 to December 2016 relating to capital received from its parent company.
Mobius appealed the demand at the Tax Appeals tribunal but lost the case. The firm had demonstrated its financial vulnerability by producing its financial statements and warned that paying such an amount would lead to its collapse.
The firm’s financial records showed it had a liability of Sh649.2 million as at end of August 2020 and a shareholder deficit of Sh389.1 million.
