No, they’re not brushing off the old 1907 plans, so Zap’s Xebra won’t be the target competition. Financial Times reports that the reborn EV firm has moved on from its Zap Alias escapade (due, uh, now to quote RF) “to buddy up” with Malaysian OEM giant Proton. The cunning plan? Sell Protons with DE’s drivetrain, for cheap and cheerful “real car” EVs. “We believe in an affordable, practical, everyday electric car,” says Detroit Electric’s (it’s so hard to type that without scare quotes) Albert Lam. “It’s not a high-end vehicle we are targeting or a short-range city car.” The one wacky part of this otherwise seemingly sensible plan? They plan to sell them in the US.
A base model with about 110 miles of EV-only range (no hybrids or range extenders here) will set you back a theoretical $23K-$25K, says Lam. Does that include the government tax break, sir? Maybe, maybe not. But Lam (former Lotus Engineering CEO) says he will also sell you a 200 mile-range model for $29K to $33K. Does that depend on the gas prices, sir? Again, no answer. But they do say they’re hitting European and Asian markets next February, with the a US launch envisioned for later in 2010. They even say they expect to make 40,000 sales globally next year, and hit 270,000 annual sales by 2012. Of course, there are a few issues . . .
Unlike other EV firms (cough, Tesla), Detroit Electric is integrated into Proton’s facilities in Detr—uh, Kuala Lumpur. And though this saves on infrastructure investment, Proton isn’t ponying up all the cash for the venture. DE was launched a year ago with $100M, and they’re still talking to “two to three major funding sources” about another $100M. Yikes! And then there’s just one other issue, which Lam acknowledged to FT. Namely that the Detroit brand name “had mixed results” when the company invited prospective US dealers to test-drive its cars last year. Uh-oh. And though they should be critical of these newcomers, “prospective dealers” should probably find out for how much of the federal plug-in tax credit these would qualify. After all, the tax credit was enacted to prove that anyth—sorry, the Volt—will sell at the right price. Maybe it will take a sub-$20K Malaysian EV hatchback to actually prove the point. Or, dare I dream it, a half-price Tesla Roadster?
According to Wikipedia, Proton is a Malaysian company, so what’s with the references to Indonesia?
According to Wikipedia, Proton is a Malaysian company, so what’s with the references to Indonesia?
Actually, Proton’s own UK website says their Malaysian as well.
http://www.proton.co.uk/about/background.php
Besides, Malaysian invasion sounds better.
Indeed Proton is Malaysian. I believe Clarkson once called one the worst vehicle ever.
Isn’t Detroit Electric an off-brand power tool you can buy at Harbor Freight?
I’ll believe it when I see it, everyone seems to have a phantom electric car that’s “coming soon”.
Yeesh, I got the capitol right but not the country? Somewhere my highschool geography is working through some mixed emotions. Thanks for keeping things real, guys.
This is more like it – an Electric Car. Not an Electric PR Exercise. Just a car.
One thing that’s bugged me over the last few years as the electrics have emerged in their various guises at various motorshows is how the furore and buzz has surrounded how the thing looked or how fast it would supposedly reach sixty. The only thing that should garner interest is the actual electrickery because forget the super-sports cars, this is what electric cars will look like and how it actually hangs together is what we actually want to know; not how it looks against an F430 on a stand.
Well, the pricing is more like it. And I’ll bet it doesn’t use special 21″ tires like the Volt.
So this car might not be for everybody, but at least it will be for somebody.
The Volt continues to sink into irrelevancy while actual competitive vehicles appear. Although this startup seems to have dubious funding.
Any project that involves Zap is doomed.
well, the emblem looks like Chrysler`s. All you need is put the Chrysler logo in middle and then announce the victory in cranking out a new real-all-American product uberelectric product!
So this is the resulting car after Dodge Avenger making love with the Sebring? Interesting.
Interestingly, if a domestic actually tried to import an electric car, everyone would know about it, and suddenly care. Most folks don’t know about Korean rebadges, but somehow I think they would catch on if the next new thing were a rebadge.
The Malaysians are very VERY proud of Proton. It’s an award winning car over there.
I’ve only ridden in the back seat of a couple of Proton taxicabs. Comfort wise they were on about the same level as an early- to mid 90’s Toyota.
Protons are or at least were based previous generation of Mitsubishi technology, so they may not be the greatest but should be of acceptable quality and design.
If the numbers pan out there would defiantly be a market for this car, 100mile range for just over 20K sounds pretty good.
Hope it works out but have the sneaky suspicion if it were this easy somebody else would have made a car in this range already.
Paul Niedermeyer
Any project that involves Zap is doomed.
Truer words hath ne’er been spoken.
Still, Proton is at least three or four rungs up the ladder from the previous Chinese partner. I’ve driven a Chinese-assembled cousin of the Xebra, and it was the worst car I’ve ever driven… and I’ve driven a lot of Chinese cars.
Proton’s big problem is that they’re still quite a few rungs below the Koreans. When they switched from importing subsystems and minor parts to sourcing them locally, interior quality and reliability went straight down the drain. I still remember when the Proton Gen.2. Mazda3-sexy, Lotus-tuned suspension, and interior plastics straight out of a Chinese taxi-cab. Dreadful.
The latest press releases don’t mention anything about Zap being involved with Detroit Electric. Is that so?
Zap’s web site doesn’t mention Detroit Electric, either. Just the usual Xebras, electrified kei-class vans, and the CGI Alias.
I’ve got an early Mitsubishi-based Proton and it’s actually really good. Eighteen years old and all the electrical extras (ie electric mirrors, windows, c/l) still work perfectly, and it flies up the motorway at 85mph in a totally confident manner.
I believe this is the car that Jeremy Clarkson called one of the worst cars ever made. No way, man! Possibly the car with the worst image, but who cares about that when you’re only paying £195 to buy it, with 12 month’s MOT thrown in?
If modern Protons are as competent and rugged as my original, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to anyone.