Optimal Energy, the outfit behind the six-seat Joule electric vehicle, is taking the next step towards producing the space age minivan in South Africa. First introduced at the Paris Motor Show, the practical Joule is on target for a debut on South African streets next year thanks to funding that was secured by Optimal to build the car there (specific details on the plant will be announced later this year). The money is coming from private and public sources, and full volume production - 50,000 units a year, most for export - is planned for 2012. The plan is for the li-ion Joule to be offered with either an asynchronous permanent magnet motor powering the front wheels or asynchronous permanent magnet in-wheel motors for either rear or four-wheel drive. Batteries will be leased. Range should be about 250 miles, but that will change based on the battery configuration the buyer chooses. A 120-mile pack should cost around $160 U.S. a month, says Green Car Congress.


[Source: Optimal Energy via Green Car Congress]

The credit crunch is not only playing havoc with plans at Tesla and other green (or not) car companies. Indeed, the effects of the financial crises are global and so it comes as little surprise that Optimal Energy, the South African company that recently showed off it's all-electric Joule at the Paris Motor Show, is now saying that they expect their car to take a little longer to bring into existence than first suggested. The companys need about $130 million to build an assembly plant and that kind of investment capitol is a little harder to come by than it was even a few months ago.

The CEO of the private company, Kobus Meiring, is optimistic sounding about the future though. He says that although the timing of their launch with the collapse of the market was unfortunate, he feels his company has the kind of value a savvy investor should be attracted to. In his words, "In a sense the market is good and bad. Its bad because a lot of the discretionary part of funds have disappeared and funds have to regroup, but its good ... if you are looking for a real-value proposition. From that point of view we will attract investors," He says they will need to eventually produce 20,000 cars a year to be viable and expects 80 per cent of that production to be shipped overseas. He wants to be in full-volume production by 2015 and has €25,000 ($32,235) as a target for the price tag for the six-seater.

[Source: Guardian]

The 2008 edition of the Paris Motor Show officially ends today and to commemorate its passing we thought we'd bring back one of our favorite electric cars from the affair with a few video-captured words from a couple of its creators. Perhaps second only to the Pininfarina B0, (if our poll is any indication) the Joule from Optimal Energy stood out amongst its electric brethren and sisteren as a practical transportation option. Up until the start of the show its appearance was something of a secret but when the wraps finally came off we were happy to see that it wasn't some fanciful concept, or future super toy for the super rich. And thankfully it wasn't a bizarre looking NEV. No, the 6-seater MPV looked like something you might see on the street today and that's one of the main points made by Kobus Meiring, CEO of Optimal Energy who, along with some of the electric cars from Paris 2008, appears in this video after the jump.



[Source: YouTube]

Even though word slipped out early about their upcoming all-electric car appearing at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, Optimal Energy played its cards pretty close to its chest and kept their web presence on the down low. Now that the world has been officially introduced to the MPV-sized Joule, the South African company has completely redone its website so we can now better examine their creation and learn more of its features. They have also released video of the car's presentation to a select audience in South Africa that preceded its European debut, complete with short speeches and lots of footage covering every angle of the six-seater.

So, what interesting information might be gleaned from the new website that we haven't already learned? Well, besides pics and short bios of the top folks at the 70-strong-and-growing company, we found some juicy technical details about the car itself. For instance, it will have two available powertrains. One follows the more traditional approach and features an asynchronous permanent magnet motor powering the front wheels through an 8:1 reduction gearbox. The other option moves the motors into the wheels themselves and so can allow for rear or four wheel drive. Sounds good, no? Now if only there was an American auto-maker currently without any EV plans who might be able to speed this cars arrival to the American market. Video after the jump.



[Source: Optimal Energy]

The first images of the Joule from Optimal Energy have now turned up on the interwebs. The Joule will be officially unveiled this week in Paris at the Motor Show. The six-seat hatchback stores energy in a lithium ion battery pack that can nominally propel it for about 120 miles. A second pack can be added that doubles the range. The plan is to eventually offer packs from a number of suppliers with different characteristics. This would allow drivers to opt for longer range or more performance. South Africa-based Optimal Energy is still looking for a site for its factory and the city of Gauteng is said to be in the lead. The car is expected to be available toward the end of 2010. Thanks to Matt for the tip!

[Source: CarToday]

Optimal Energy is the latest company to announce that they are unveiling a new electric car at the Paris Motor Show this year and it's one that should definitely impress. Coming all the way from South Africa, the Joule may very well be the world's most practical electric car to date as well as one of the more stylish. Although it has been shown to a handful of journalists there haven't yet been any published photos but it has been described as "an uncluttered mix of a Renault Scenic and a Citroen Picasso." The Minister of Science and Technology, Mosibudi Mangena, had a chance to drive it last week and he called it "simply gorgeous." If that's not convincing enough, consider that the designer of this compact 6-seater is Keith Helfet who, while he worked for Jaguar, impressed many sets of eyes with the XJ220 and the F-Type Concept.

Of course, when it comes to all-electric cars, the range is of utmost importance and the head of the company, Kobus Meiring, has said that two lithium ion battery packs will move the Joule for 400 km (248 miles). Plugged into a 220 volt power source, a full charge is achievable in 7 hours. The body, said to be a mix of plastic and composites, sits on a steel space frame and is described as spacious and versatile. It has taken the company over two years to reach this point and it hopes to begin production by the end of 2010. If they can achieve the targeted retail price of R200,000 ($24,618), they should have a real winner on their hands. We'll be watching.

*Update: The 7 hour charge time given is for a single battery configuration.

[Source: IOL]