Africa

The car may look like a throwback, but the important bits are on the inside. South Africa-based Metair takes a retrofitted two-door hatchback and uses it to show off what the group says is the most advanced lead-acid battery around. By US and Japanese standards, Metair went decidedly low-budget, ...

The dream of having a practical electric vehicle from South Africa has ended. At least, for now. Optimal Energy, which first trotted out its Keith Helfet-designed Joule at the 2008 Paris Motor Show has announced that it is shutting down. Though it was originally expected to go on sale in 2010, ...

Ultra low-cost transportation doesn't have a particularly successful history in the recent past. Just ask Tata. The company's Nano subcompact was supposed to revolutionize the way low-income families the world over moved themselves, but as it turns out, even those with no money don't want to be ...

First, the numbers: 38 days of driving 5,800 kilometers (3,600 miles) About 40 battery charges Six countries Those are the stats from the now-completed Mission Africa, a cross-continent trip in a "Powered by Venturi" electric Citroen Berlingo. Driver Xavier Chevrin says that the ...

Venturi does more than create whimsical concept vehicles for auto shows. The company also supports electric vehicles going on long-distance adventures, like from Shanghai to Paris. The latest mission sends an EV along 4,800 kilometres (2,982 miles) from Kenya to South Africa. The trip started ...

Fisker Automotive may not exactly be chummy with the U.S. federal government these days, but at least it's getting some love from the Middle East. The California-based extended-range plug-in vehicle maker reached an agreement with Al-Futtaim Group to distribute its cars throughout the Middle ...

It's official. Nissan will launch the Leaf in South Africa "as soon as conditions allow." While addressing attendees at the 2011 Johannesburg International Motor Show, Pierre Loing, Nissan's vice-president of product and strategy, told showgoers that the success of the award-winning Leaf has ...

Pirates? Terrorists? You make the call. gCaptain reports that just months after arriving on location, the Petrobras-owned Ocean Rig Poseidon was recently attacked while drilling for oil off the coast of Tanzania, Africa. Officially, Tanzania's Registrar of Ships released this statement:

It may not be on most people's news radar, but the West African nation of Nigeria has a problem with the effects of roadside pollution. As Africa's most populous nation, Nigeria has its share of smog-filled cities, congested roads and aging vehicles. In an effort to clear the air, Nigeria will, ...

Libyan leader (ex-leader?) Muammar Qaddafi apparently had some unusual items in his personal collection. Rebel forces stormed his compound this week, and we now know he had a scrapbook dedicated to former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, lots of weapons and, oddly, a doorless, all-electric ...