2008 Paris Auto Show: South Africa's First Electric Car, the Joule

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PARIS — An electric-car prototype built in South Africa made its debut at the 2008 Paris Auto Show — and is expected to go on the market by the end of 2010. The Joule is named after British physicist James Prescott Joule and in turn the unit of energy named after him.

The compact six-seater MPV was made by a Cape Town, South Africa, company called Optimal Energy, which says it will be assembled locally for sale in South Africa and abroad. The Joule was developed with some $5.6 million in funding from South Africa's National Research Foundation Innovation Fund. It was designed by South Africa native Keith Helfet, a former chief stylist at Jaguar who was responsible for designs such as the XJ220, the XK180 and the F-type.

The Joule runs on lithium-ion batteries and is claimed to have a 124-mile driving range (double that with an optional second battery pack) and a top speed of 80 mph. With its on-board charger, it will take about seven hours to recharge using a normal 220-volt home outlet. The company's CEO, Kobus Meiring, points out that the lithium-ion battery is expected to have about a seven-year life span.

Optimal Energy's solution to a battery pack's high cost — about a third of the price of an electric car — will be to lease rather than sell it, aiming at both corporate fleets and private buyers. Meiring claims the car's overall running costs will be around 20 percent lower than a gasoline- or diesel-powered car at today's fuel prices, with as much as a 40 percent saving by the time the vehicle is launched in 2010 if fuel prices continue to rise as expected.

The Joule has a regenerative braking system, and the body consists of a steel space frame with a combination of composite fiberglass, carbon and plastic body panels.

The South African province of Gauteng is being evaluated for Joule's first assembly plant. The car will have an expected local content of over 50 percent and will be built to European safety standards.

The Joule is expected to be priced at the equivalent of $22,615 to $28,275. Optimal Energy was not yet ready at the Paris show to predict sales volumes but said the numbers would be "not insubstantial" and promised to release the Joule for media test drives in early 2009.

What this means to you: Among other encouraging things about this project, what a good idea to have top-notch stylists turn their skills to electric cars. — Denis Droppa, Correspondent