The latest news about Optimal Energy, Joule - The electric car

Kobus Meiring, CEO of Optimal Energy and the man behind South Africa's first electric car, shares his winning strategies.

South Africa will produce the first locally-made battery-operated six-seater, called Joule. The car’s first outing debuted at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. However two years on and the zooty wheels have enjoyed a facelift at the Milan-based Zagato Total Design Centre.

For years, we have watched movies, read the news and seen people demonstrating about the dreaded words “global warming”. To many, it spells the key element to human beings bringing about their own demise. We are our own worst enemies, as the saying goes.

Scientists have preached on end about the deadly toxins found in many household products, the greenhouse gas effect as well as the detrimental effects of carbon monoxide fumes emitted from cars, among others.

Critics of Joule’s extended production schedule seem to underestimate the amount of time is takes to design and manufacture a car. Motor vehicles are among the most complex consumer products on earth, and quite understandably so.

A group of British students has set out on an exciting mission to defy stereotypes surrounding electric vehicles. Team Racing Green Endurance (RGE) embarked on a 26 000 kilometre road trip across the Pan-American Highway, in an electric sports car.