The cost of buying the things would matter less than the cost of running the things.<p>This looks like a 4-8 person SUV, which would be inherently more expensive to run regardless of the costs. I would imagine that the kind of vehicle most useful for an impoverished area would be a <i>bus</i> (as in, the kind of vehicle most third world people travel in already). Toyota and Mercedes already manufacture small, rugged buses that seem to make it to the third world market.<p>Further, it's hard to beat the price of a used American school bus - $2000-$5000 for a <i>thirty-person</i> vehicle. American school districts discard a <i>lot</i> of buses after a few years use due to safety regulations. Oddly enough, this vehicle class <i>already</i> emphasizes safety and economy. That's why you see them in Central America frequently, along with the Toyota and Mercedes mini-buses.<p>Also, large manufacturers already have large parts networks through-out the world. It seems unlikely a start-up could duplicate that.
This is a great problem to try and solve, but I can't help but think that there are already vehicles out there which more-or-less fit the bill. The humble Toyota pickup, for example, has already been put to many uses on this continent. eg. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_War" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_War</a>
When I lived in Tanzania, Land Rover Defender (90s and 110s) were the most popular and seemed to be built for the road conditions.<p>It's an established platform.