ANSAmed (Tunis) - Barkia Africa is meant to be (and, indeed, is) the first "100%-Tunisian car". Its much-awaited official debut is due to take place tomorrow in Sfax, where the prototype preview will take place.
The occasion is the Automobile Exhibition, which became a must both for connaisseurs (at least 30,000 of them are expected to visit the four-day exhibition) and exhibitors, who will take part in the event in large amounts (40% of them are Tunisians, the rest will come from abroad). However, at least as for local automobile connaisseurs are concerned, all eyes will be on Barkia Africa, the result of a project which was carried out with perseverance, whose aim is to export most of the 100,000 cars that will come out of the factory each year. The reason why exports (especially toward other African countries) are a priority is probably due to the saturation of the market (nearly a monopoly) by French brands, which has lasted for decades now and left other foreign producers with nearly empty hands.
The will, the passion, and especially the money needed for the project were provided by a businessman from Sfax whose name is, meaningfully, Mohamed Barkia. The project's ambitious nature resides not only in making investments in an extremely complex and scarcely permeable industry, but also in the fact that Mohamed Barkia involved only Tunisian capitals in the project, probably in order to reiterate that ''Africa'' is a car thought, designed and made by Tunisians for Tunisians, although not only for them.
When it is fully functioning , the factory (built in Sfax) will produce 100,000 cars per year, thus generating 1,000 direct jobs; more jobs will be created in the industries allied to car manufacturing, which always play a significant role in the automotive sector. According to its creator, Barkia Africa will be a people's car, even if its exact price has not been determined yet. If the new car is to be meant for the Tunisian people, its price should be kept low, not exceeding 20-22,000 dinars (approximately EUR 11,000). However, the exact price range is quite difficult to determine.
Although the technical features will be officially disclosed tomorrow, some of them are already known. Barkia Africa (the capital ''A'' stands for Africa is in the brand's logo) is a five-seater, spacious, with a large trunk, a feature which is much appreciated by Tunisian car-drivers and, in general, in North Africa. Its weight is 1 tonne and 370 kg, its engine is 1.6 cubic cm, its maximum speed is 180 km/h and its consumption is 6.3 litres of fuel for 100 km.
