e-Zone Goes Global: Stormtrooper Meets Golf Cart

South Korea’s top electric vehicle manufacturer has plans to make inroads… everywhere. CT&T (founded in 2002) wants to take its tiny, two-seater, slow (max speed is 35 mph) golf-cart-meets-stormtrooper and make it a global sensation — with limited use (short neighborhood trips, small city driving, or cop cars in China).

e-Zone Cop Car in China

Go China!

The car fits the niche of what’s coined the neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV) or city drive electric vehicles (CDEV). I personally prefer STGCEV (storm trooper golf car electric vehicles).

e-Zone NEV

The vehicle has quick-charge technology that lets it power up in 10 minutes (according to the company) from a standard 110-volt outlet and can go 70 miles on a single charge. It also includes a McPherson suspension system and 4-wheel drive with 4 direct-drive, in-wheel motors. The e-Zone includes regenerative braking using electromagnetic technology.

Potential U.S. plants to manufacture the e-Zone and its sister car the c-Zone (this is where the golf cart comes in) include Alabama, California, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The company plans to employ about 2,600 workers and managers over the next five years with the hope of employing more than 10,000 workers by 2014 — with a major presence on the West Coast and the Southeast.

Lee Young Ki, president of CT&T, in an interview with Maeil Economy said the company plans to build “40 EV plants with the capacity of 5,000-10,000 units per year in the United States, including 10 plants in the state of California… 4 plants in Atlanta, Hawaii, and other locations.”

If CT&T does open up plants across the U.S., it should be careful about press releases with language like the “e-Zone is good for women and the elderly”… y’know, to bring home all the ingredients to mix their husband’s perfect hi-ball. Ugh. At least its environmental heart is in the right spot.

e-Zone

The e-Zone is expected to cost from about $8,000 to $17,500, which might be a hard sell in the U.S. when scooters can be bought for a fraction of that cost. Then again, CT&T also makes scooters.

Open the blast doors!