The dream of the first South African electric car to enter the global market has been shattered according to a report in the BusinessDay. This news was met with great sadness from the entire CAR team as we were privileged to be the first publication to drive the prototype and cover the story in April 2011. The black clouds of funding problems were hovering over the company then and unfortunately the inevitable has happened.
The company that came into existence in 2004 under the leadership of visionary Kobus Meiring had the dream of establishing and leading the South African electric car industry. He managed to put a team of engineers together and started to develop the firm's first electric prototype in a time when the idea of mass-produced electric cars was still unimaginable. With the help of government funding the company got underway. The highlight was the last four prototype vehicles that the firm produced, which resembled production vehicles to the untrained eye.
This project promised massive job creation for South Africans and the opportunity to drive a green vehicle with a “proudly South African” sticker on the back. You can blame Optimal Energy of being too ambitious with its goal of producing 50 000 units a year but you cannot ignore the talent of the people that took this project so far down the line. In the end the step in funding necessary to take the prototype into production was a bridge too far. Even a company like Tesla with the backing of (South African born) billionaire Elon Musk faced a threat of bankruptcy before managing to secure extra funding.
What is next for Optimal Energy? At the moment the firm is looking at the being involved in electric bus development for public transport. Meiring states that discussions with municipalities were positive regarding the purchasing of electric buses. We can only wish the company all the best for any future endeavours.