CT&T wants to make e-Zone electric car around the U.S. with RAS system
e-Zone Electric Vehicle - Click above to enlarge
The last time we heard about CT&T, the South Korean company behind the quirky looking all-electric e-Zone car, they were saying that they were considering a variety of possible locations for its North American manufacturing plants. We now have a few more details on how CT&T wants to bring its promised full range of electric vehicles to market. The company's strategy is called RAS, which sounds unappealing but stands for Regional Assembly And Sales system. The idea is to spend $8 to $10 million on each regional facility, which will allow CT&T to, "say on the leading edge of the EV market," said chairman and company founder Young Gi Lee. Lee also said in a statement that the RAS system has the potential to revolutionize the auto industry the way Toyota's just-in time parts delivery did "by regionalizing manufacturing and sales and allowing us to offer EVs at an incredibly reasonable price point." Once again, CT&T is nothing if not ambitious (CT&T has said they plan to be selling its first EVs by the fourth quarter of 2009).
Last year, CT&T said they would make and sell the e-Zone in Fiji, but as best as we can tell, the e-Zones currently used there were made elsewhere and shipped to the tropical island. Check out a promotion video for the e-Zone after the jump.
[Source: Green Car Advisor]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Matt 6:47PM (8/10/2009)
It's so ugly that there hasn't even been any comments in the first hour and a half of this post being up... now THAT's ugly.
As for the distribution model, do they plan on building them at the dealer? Like a kit car or something? The cheapest way to ship any given product is in its most dense form, so whether that means part by part, or whole cars you still have to get the vehicle to the destination. If they can get all the parts to the location using only part of the volume of the finished vehicle, maybe they are on to something... assuming they don't waste too much of their resources on assembly machinery/space. Good luck with the just-in-time deliveries at all 5,437 locations, though.
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alexacoon 7:59PM (8/10/2009)
Frankly i don't care too much what it looks like, if this thing can manage say 60mph and has a 50-60 mile range and a (rather doubtful) price under 15k it would be a good comuter car or in my case a motorcycle replacement. Now if they could make it a full convertable and make it handle like a gocart they might atract even more people.
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Posterboy 3:14AM (8/11/2009)
Lets see, 30 seconds of research using link provided in articles shows that this thing is actually a NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle) and not a car. I'd love to own an electric car, or plug-in hybrid, I'm part of the target market for a LEAF (an autoblog speculation article waiting to be written... what is LEAF an acronym for?), a Volt or a IMiev, which is why I like and read Autoblog... However, any vehicle that maxes out at 25 mph IS NOT a car. Heck , the 80cc scooter that I used to ride in college could do 35 mph, and it cost me less than $1000. Sorry CT&T... we hardly knew ya, but the e-zone is a FAIL.
BTW, I have to ask... do the 3 holes in the front, uh, coverplate decrease the amount of drag or something, or did they just run out of money for fiberglass and aluminum there and figure we wouldn't notice the holes? The picture on the efcars link at least somewhat resembles a bumper.
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alexacoon 4:17PM (8/11/2009)
*sigh* Cant say I'm surprised, unless it had three wheels the insane crash standards makes anything ike this impossible. When we have so many states that don't even require a motorcycle rider to wear a helmet why cant we have motorcycle class cars that don't need to meet such standards?
Matt 11:17AM (8/12/2009)
The reason we don't have a class of cars that doesn't have to meet safety requirements is that people would buy them and kill themselves. At least in a motorcycle you're not trapped inside. Driving is the most dangerous thing you do on a daily basis, and it is the number one killer of people between the ages of 2 and 34! Thanks to our stringent safety requirements, automobile fatalities have been dropping as a percentage, but it has kept the top spot for killing in the US (and virtually all developed nations). Your relative safety in modern cars is due to the dedication of engineers all over the world, and in the US in particular; circumventing safety is NOT worth the minor gains in efficiency. Use your head.
1pettyfan440 1:15PM (10/06/2009)
the car seems interesting but the u-tube video makes reference to $ 5.00 a month in maintanence, what would an electric vehicle need ? Electricity so should I assume this vehicle needs to be plugged in ? Does it have a engine driven on fossil fuel to charge batteries ? Some one tell me what $ %.99 a month is for, because if it's for a plug in, I would hate to see the electric bill from where ever you charge it from because it has to have a range ( of some sort )
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1pettyfan440 1:15PM (10/06/2009)
my posting is in correct, the C T + T vehicle is a PLUG IN so there is no relief to the nations power grid, it DOES HAVE A RANGE so even for an urbanite that is an issue because city driving wastes more fuel than open road, so why wouldn't electricity be used up when at idle ? Can you see this micro-vehicle sitting dead on the side of the road with passengers trying to push it ? It's almost like Al Bundy pushing the dodge home from work, C T + T needs to make it self-sefficent rather than plug in dependent.
Nice try guys, you almost got it.
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