The latest news about Optimal Energy, Joule - The electric car

We were fortunate enough to have Carte Blanche feature a progress update on Joule on Sunday 1 November 2009.

South Africa''s first consumer electric car, the Joule, will require capital of around R5.5 billion over the next three years to bring to market.

This is according to Kobus Meiring, CEO of Optimal Energy – the Cape-based company that conceptualised and developed the Joule.

“We plan to start setting up a plant in 2010, with the first vehicles off the line in 2012,” says Meiring. He adds that the Eastern Cape is a very strong possibility for the location of the first plant, with the East London Industrial Development Zone being one of the front-runners.

It's 30 years since the film Mad Max was made, launching the career of Mel Gibson.

The film made a big splash at the time for its terrifying view of a world without oil, where gangs of grisly-looking people roam deserts in a post-apocalyptic world, killing one another to get their hands on the few drops of petrol that some have managed to produce in makeshift refineries.

Complete fiction, of course. Or was it years ahead of its time?

The second working prototype of Joule has affectionately become known as PT Panda. Although you might not hear it coming, you certainly will see it since it is wrapped in giant realistic looking panda decals. As an engineering mule, PT Panda is designed to test the motor and electrical systems.

Joule was the star attraction at the 2009 South African Automotive Week (SAAW) which was held in Port Elizabeth recently. It aims to be a platform that promotes business between automotive traders across the country.

Port Elizabeth, Nelson Mandela Bay has been short-listed to produce South
Africa's first electric-powered vehicle in a R5,5-bilhion project that will create 10 000direct and indirect permanent jobs once operational.