South Korean Low-Speed EV Maker Sets Sights on U.S. Launch in 4th Quarter
By John O'Dell July 7, 2009
South Korean electric vehicle maker CT&T Co.
says it will start selling its low-speed neighborhood EVs in the U.S. by the end of the year, marking the Seoul-based company's first North American foray in EV production and sales.
The company said it will begin selling both its "e-Zone" personal vehicles (right) and "c-Zone" utility vehicles during the fourth quarter.
Prices for the low-speed EVs will range from $8,000 to $16,000. CT&T said it intends to manufacture some of the vehicles in the U,S. with production to begin sometime in the next five years.
"We are accelerating our plans to become a major investor in zero emissions vehicle technologies in the U.S.," Gi Lee, CT&T's chief executive, said in a statement.
The company's first U.S. distributor is Florida-based Evolve Motor Corp., which already has four showrooms and is promoting the eZone (zero oil, no emissions) on its Web site.
CT&T was founded in 2002 and started producing its c-Zone electric utility vehicle in China two years ago. The company says its 1,100-pound e-Zone personal vehicle has a top speed of about 35 mph and can go about 70 miles on a single charge.
The company, which doesn't disclose its sales, said it has reached agreements within the past year to sell its electric vehicles to agencies in Canada and Fiji as well as to the Korean Air Force.
Like many nascent EV makers, CT&T apparently sees an opportunity to profit from increased U.S. demand for vehicles with low emissions and a low carbon footprint under the climate legislation that passed the House of Representatives last week and is being considered by the Senate this summer.
The bill provides incentives for electric vehicle manufacturers and would provide a priority distribution of potentially valuable emissions allowances to manufacturers of plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles.
Under the so-called cap and trade provisions of the energy bill, emissions allowances in excess of a company's actual carbon emissions can be sold to other companies with emissions that exceed the allowances they received for the government and that can't - or don't want to - reduce their emissions to meet the government-set cap.
Danny King and John O'Dell
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