Gordon Murray-designed electric truck is supercharging trade in the Global South

The Midlands-based company is tackling a pressing challenge: slow, expensive, and unreliable transport stifling trade in developing regions. Domestic trading costs in these countries can be up to 14 times higher than in the US, a barrier OX is breaking down with the world’s first purpose-designed electric truck for the Global South.

Named one of Time magazine’s best Inventions, this all-terrain vehicle boasts a 150km range, a 2,000kg payload, a 74 kWh battery, and a ten-year lifespan. With operating costs ten times lower than traditional alternatives, it’s a marvel of efficiency and affordability. OX claims it can transport a sack of goods to market across poor-quality roads for less than $1 (75p), giving farmers and traders access to larger markets.

The truck’s Completely Knocked Down (CKD) design – shipped flat-packed and assembled locally – enhances modularity and circularity, offering a practical solution to a global problem. But the package goes beyond hardware, delivering a complete transport ecosystem via its truck-as-a-service model.

Customers pay only for the space they need, at rates competitive with local bike and motorbike transport but with greater capacity and speed. Booking is seamless, using a toll-free number or a 2G phone app developed with a Rwandan tech partner. Proprietary routing technology optimises truck utilisation based on payload and distance.

Since its 2021 pilot in Rwanda, OX has supported over 5,000 customers – 80 per cent of whom are repeat users. The impact is striking. Traders once spent days hauling goods to market by bus, bicycle, or on foot. Now, OX delivers in hours, boosting productivity and profits. Colin Tebbett, CEO of the new OX East Africa franchise, notes: “Some of our customers have seen their sales increase by five times simply by using the OX Delivers service.”

OX Delivers secured its $163 million contract to launch OX East Africa in December last year. The multi-year deal includes a fleet of electric trucks, access to the OX tech platform, and maintenance services. Building on soaring demand in Rwanda, the franchise will expand into Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Burundi, with ambitious aims of eventually reaching the three billion people in the Global South currently without affordable, sustainable transport.

“This exciting agreement represents a significant milestone for the team at OX Delivers and is an acknowledgement of the extraordinary traction we have made both with our electric trucks and the service operation in Rwanda,” says Simon Davis, CEO and Founder of OX Delivers.

“Last year was record-breaking for OX Delivers, and this deal enables us to significantly accelerate our business model and enhance our ability to deliver affordable, reliable transport-as-a-service to allow our customers’ businesses to prosper.”

Tebbett added: “Our approach creates a crucial self-reinforcing cycle of economic and social growth within the local communities that OX Delivers operates in today, and we have the ambition to expand this across the Global South in the future.”

As alluded to, the tech extends beyond the truck itself. Operational data fuels a digital ecosystem, building a scalable B2B marketplace. This smart integration, coupled with plans for payment apps, is a delight for anyone geeking out over connected systems and data-driven optimisation (they walk among us). 

With a next-generation truck and the East Africa franchise now underway, OX is scaling fast, proving innovation can be both profitable and purposeful. The company now plans to double its UK workforce with world-class class highly skilled roles.

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