SA's own electric car at motor show

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Danette Breitenbach

The Joule, SA's first electric car designed for the consumer market, will be on show at the second South African Automotive Week (SAAW), which takes place in Port Elizabeth from 7 - 10 October 2009.

Developed by Cape Town-based Optimal Energy, the Joule is a five-seat lithium-ion battery EV with a top speed of 135km/h, and a range of 300km.

The vehicle will be on display as part of the trade show at the SAAW.

Kobus Meiring, CEO of Optimal Energy, will be one of the speakers at the “Navigating the storm: A roadmap to vision 2020” conference, hosted by the Automotive Industry Development Centre during SAAW.

The Joule will be one of over 150 component and automotive industry exhibits on show, which comes at a time when the components industry is under extreme pressure, according to National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers executive director Roger Pitot.

Calling for the Reserve Bank to keep the rand at “realistic” levels to protect component exports, Pitot said: “Government seems to have forgotten the importance of manufacturing. That is where the jobs are.”

“We should be beneficiating minerals in South Africa, but we are happy to export even platinum,” he said, referring to delays in announcing support through the Automotive Production and Development Programme for the catalytic converter industry.

Source: Daily Dispatch

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