World financial mess slowing South African electric car plans
The credit crunch is not only playing havoc with plans at Tesla and other green (or not) car companies. Indeed, the effects of the financial crises are global and so it comes as little surprise that Optimal Energy, the South African company that recently showed off it's all-electric Joule at the Paris Motor Show, is now saying that they expect their car to take a little longer to bring into existence than first suggested. The companys need about $130 million to build an assembly plant and that kind of investment capitol is a little harder to come by than it was even a few months ago.
The CEO of the private company, Kobus Meiring, is optimistic sounding about the future though. He says that although the timing of their launch with the collapse of the market was unfortunate, he feels his company has the kind of value a savvy investor should be attracted to. In his words, "In a sense the market is good and bad. Its bad because a lot of the discretionary part of funds have disappeared and funds have to regroup, but its good ... if you are looking for a real-value proposition. From that point of view we will attract investors," He says they will need to eventually produce 20,000 cars a year to be viable and expects 80 per cent of that production to be shipped overseas. He wants to be in full-volume production by 2015 and has €25,000 ($32,235) as a target for the price tag for the six-seater.
[Source: Guardian]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
gorr 1:33PM (11/06/2008)
It's not the money that stop this factory from beginning to build and sale those cars. It's because they are not sure they can reliably produce these new concept cars with unproven everything and they are not sure consumers will want that except
maybe the few chatters that oppose hydrogen like child oppose to eat their meat for chips. Approximatelly 5 000 theoric early buyers. Then the infrastructure for fast charging is innexistant and will be forever innexistant with actual politicians and energy business that have had the idea of burning foods for fuel as their first idea to cease the energy crisis that stem only to your actual administration that had the idea to jack up the price of diesel and gasoline at the pumps.
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Richard 1:57PM (11/06/2008)
I'm not familiar with production facilities management nor anything of an industry this large, but outsourcing sure comes to mind. Building a dedicated facility sure looks like t he wrong avenue for this venture. How about collaborating with an auto manufacturer that has slow production and excess manufacturing ability? Basic business principals?
nads 6:55PM (11/06/2008)
Gorr = dumb.
Electric cars are not a "concept". They've been around for a while and most major automakers have some plans involving them. The tech for electric cars is out there. Its nothing new. In some countries in Europe and in Japan the governments are actually building fast-charging infrastructures.
And you talk about EVs being unproven tech and lacking infrastructure..and then mention HYDROGEN?? You can plug ev's in any socket and get a charge. Hydrogen tech can't compare to EV, on ANY LEVEL.. Hydrogen tech is the definition of zero infrastructure, 100% risk-unknown tech.
Maybe in the backwoods trailerparks you live people wouldn't buy a modest sized EV with 250mile range, but here on planet earth people would claw each other to death to be the first 5,000 to buy it. They could build the plant near California - a market virtually guaranteed to suck them up. Or they could relocate to France which has heavy incentives for the production of green-tech cars (and could then easily sell them around the region).
jake 8:34PM (11/07/2008)
Come on nads, no personal attacks.
At $32,235, I think there will be plenty of demand for a 6 seater EV with 250 mile range (though the lease requirement for the battery is going to discourage some people). 20k really isn't that much volume if they plan a worldwide launch. The problem is if they can actually make the car for this price.
And money IS going to stop them from building. Without it there is no way they can build anything, esp in the volume they want. You can look at GM & the other automakers halting plans for cars/engines and making cuts everywhere. You need lots of money in the auto business.