On the sun-drenched streets near ancient Carthage, a tiny two-seater called the Bee hums quietly through traffic. It has no exhaust pipe, no petrol tank, and — on a good day — no electricity bill. The car charges itself, soaking up North African sunshine through the solar panels on its roof.
This is the vision of Bako Motors, a Tunisian startup that's turning one of Africa's most abundant natural resources into affordable, everyday transport.
Built for the Sun Belt
Founded in 2021 by entrepreneur Boubaker Siala, Bako Motors produces two solar-equipped electric vehicles: the Bee, a compact city car priced at around $6,200, and the B-Van, a cargo vehicle starting at $8,500. Both carry rooftop solar panels that charge their lithium-iron-phosphate batteries directly.
The numbers are striking. The B-Van's solar panels alone can provide roughly 50 kilometres (31 miles) of free driving per day — adding up to about 17,000 kilometres a year without plugging in once.
"The solar cells provide us with more than 50% of our needs," Siala told CNN. "It's huge."
The vehicles can also charge from a standard power outlet, but in a continent where EV charging infrastructure is virtually non-existent, that solar boost transforms the equation entirely.
Local Parts, Local Jobs
What makes Bako Motors more than just a clever gadget company is its commitment to local manufacturing. More than 40% of the components in each vehicle — including the batteries and steel — are sourced from within Africa.
Khaled Habaieb, the company's COO, says the approach creates much-needed industrial jobs while keeping prices far below global competitors. For comparison, US-based Aptera Motors is developing solar EVs that start around $30,000 — nearly five times the price of a Bee.
The B-Van, designed for last-mile deliveries, can haul 400 kilograms of cargo with a range of up to 300 kilometres. The Bee tops out at a modest 45 km/h — slower than many petrol mopeds — but for navigating crowded city streets, that's a feature, not a flaw.
A third model, the X-Van, is already in development.
A Market Ready to Move
Africa's EV market is projected to reach $4.2 billion by 2030, according to Mordor Intelligence. But the continent's unique transport challenges — poor road quality, scarce charging points, high fuel import costs — demand solutions designed from the ground up, not imported from Europe or China.
"If you can tell a person that the battery gives you 250 kilometres and solar adds another 50, it gives them the confidence to choose EV," says Bob Wesonga of the Africa E-Mobility Alliance, a think tank tracking the continent's electric transition.
With roughly 100 vehicles built so far, Bako Motors is still small. But a second, larger factory is under construction in Tunisia, expected to open in late 2026, with capacity for 8,000 vehicles a year destined for Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.
Siala has his sights set on capturing 5 to 10% of Africa's estimated one-million-vehicle annual market. It's an ambitious target for a young company — but then, turning sunshine into kilometres was a pretty ambitious idea too.
