“In a special board meeting of Optimal Energy directors held on 21 June 2012 the notification from the shareholders, IDC and TIA, not to fund the “E-Bus” strategy was reviewed. Based on the lack of the required funding available, the Board made the decision to shutdown Optimal Energy as soon as possible.”
The dream of the first South African electric car to enter the global market has been shattered, according to a report in the Business Day. 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
In this world exclusive we drive South Africa’s first electric car, the Joule. Here seen in prototype form, editor Hannes Oosthuizen discusses the highlights of the car and the biggest hurdle ahead for the company, Optimal Energy, based in Cape Town. Read the full article in the April issue of CAR.
The development of South Africa’s first all-electric vehicle is well advanced, but not without problems. CAR was recently granted an exclusive opportunity to visit Optimal Energy to chat about the Joule and also had the chance to get behind the wheel for a world-first drive. Currently in prototype form, the Joule is surprisingly fun to drive, practical and very promising.View a behind-the-scenes gallery of our visit.
Read about South Africa’s locally-developed electric car, the Joule, in the Nov ’08 issue.