The Joule, SA's first electric car created by Cape-based company Optimal Energy, is exhibiting a ready-to-drive model at the 80th International Motor Show in Geneva, running from 4 to 14 March.
According to Optimal Energy, the prototype on display is the first of a test fleet of vehicles set to hit South African roads by mid-year, in time for the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup.
Diana Blake, Optimal Energy's director of sales and marketing, says it's been a short 18 months since the Joule's international debut at the Paris Motor Show.
“Paris was more lifestyle-oriented and we could push the electrical side of the Joule, while Geneva is much more of a trade show.” Even so, Blake says there are five times more electric vehicles (EVs) at this year's show than in Paris, in 2008.
“What's also refreshing is that the EVs are being made part of the general stand, as opposed to only being exhibited in special halls. They're not like the bad cousin anymore, and people are taking them more seriously.”
According to Optimal Energy, the Joule has been developed from a static display model into a pre-production prototype by Zagato's Total Design Centre. “The model we have at Geneva was a fully-functional car; people could get into it and see how to charge it.” While Blake says the car is definitely still a niche product, it seems the acceptance level has gone up.
“There's been a lot of talk and conferences around electric vehicles, not just the technical aspects, but also the marketing of vehicles, the swapping of batteries, and infrastructure for fast charging.”
“For 2010, the overriding effect we want is as much visibility as possible, and also to get South Africans to experience the car, because - unless you've driven - it you don't know what it's all about,” explains Blake.
Wheel deals
According to Blake, electric vehicle services company Better Place has contacted Optimal Energy in terms of setting up infrastructure for vehicle charging. “The volume of vehicles might not be high in SA initially, as most people will be able to charge the cars in their garage. But we do feel it's necessary, even if it just makes the car more acceptable.”
Full-scale production of the Joule is scheduled to begin at the end of 2012, says Blake, with cars in showrooms by mid-2013. The company plans for the finished product to include a range of 230km, based on the New European Driving Cycle, or 300km, using the Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule. The final model will be a five-seat passenger car with a four-star NCAP safety rating and retail price of 24 300 euros, in today's terms.
The Joule is powered by a 36kWh traction battery, and is designed to accelerate from 0 to 60km/h in less than five seconds, with a maximum speed of 135km/h. The system is charged by plugging the Joule into a single-phase 230V/16A supply, to a charge point located on the car.
Around seven hours of charging time is required for a 300km range, according to the company.
Optimal Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with German automotive service provider EDAG to industrialise the Joule. 'We've been speaking to mainly German organisations in the past couple of months, because it's very difficult to go from producing a few hundred cars to 50 000,” notes Blake.
“We don't yet have the expertise in SA and have to go abroad to find skills, but we aim to have the consulting engineers who come over shadowed by a local person, so skills transfer will be very important,” she adds.
The company has also signed an MOU with the South Korean lithium battery cell supplier, Energy Innovation Group, to explore the possibility of setting up a manufacturing facility in SA, to provide cells to Optimal Energy.
The Industrial Development Corporation of SA (IDC), as a potential investor, is party to this memorandum. The IDC, along with the Department of Science and Technology's Innovation Fund, are both investors in Optimal Energy. The company says it has mandated a consortium of advisors, including International SPC, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Axelcium, to oversee financial optimisation and capital-raising during the industrialisation phase.
Local community
Optimal Energy has introduced an awareness campaign, called Don't be a passenger, to coincide with the Joule's showing, in Geneva.
“What we're trying to do is not only build a car company, but an electric vehicle community, as South Africans often forget what we have done in the past,” explains Blake. “The campaign's aim is to make South Africans realise what we're capable of, and to ensure what the company is doing stays in the country.”
Blake adds that consumer attitudes are changing, and that public reception of the Joule has undergone a shift in recent months. “Initially we received a lot of comments from people saying they couldn't believe what we were doing, or that it wouldn't work, but in the past six to eight months this has changed to 'where can I place an order'?
“The industry is advancing rapidly and interest is growing by the day. People understand that it's going to happen and are taking it more seriously.”
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