SA's electric car gets moving - FINWEEK

It will probably be in the Eastern Cape - in Port Elizabeth or East London.

In a radio interview on Thursday, Optimal Energy chief executive Kobus Meiring said negotiations with relatively unknown motor manufacturers were under way for constructing the vehicle. The group is cautious about working directly with well-known brand manufacturers on production because it does not wish to dilute the Joule's brand value as a truly South African product.

During a talk at the South African National Energy Association (Sanea) on the same evening Meiring said that Optimal Energy aims to start mass production by the end of 2012, and have its first sales in South Africa in 2015.

But most of the vehicles are intended for the export market. The assembly of a small fleet of trial models, says Meiring, has already started in Port Elizabeth and these will be on the road by June.

Meiring declared that at today's prices the entry-level Joule will cost about R238 000 and a luxury model R278 000. This excludes the battery, which has to be rented. If the battery price was included this would be like buying a car with four years' fuel supply included, Meiring explained at the Sanea talks.

The car's operating cost is expected to be 5c per kilometre, compared with 80c per kilometre for any conventional car. The total cost of ownership will be about 25% less than for an car with an internal combustion engine.