Detroit Electric's Electric Car Hits the Road Again After 100 Year Absence

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SHAH ALAM, Malaysia, September 2, 2008; Detroit Electric in Search for Manufacturing Partners to Roll out Electric Cars by 2009

Detroit Electric is making a come back in a big way with plans to progressively roll out affordable electric vehicles worldwide by the end of 2009. The historic electric car brand held a regional media conference today to introduce electric car technology and unveil its business and manufacturing plans moving forward.

As part of the Malaysian Government's initiative to tackle rising fuel prices and the search for green alternative transportation, Detroit Electric's electric vehicle has been identified as one of the potential progressive innovative ways to tackle the on-going concerns. National car maker Proton has been requested by Prime Minister YAB Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi to test and validate Detroit Electric's technology and explore the potential to collaborate to create a range of pure electric cars.

"The Malaysian Government is taking proactive measures to provide efficient and reliable alternative transportation to the people. Detroit Electric is working closely with them and we hope to provide a sustainable solution," said Albert Lam, Chairman and CEO of Detroit Electric.

"USD5 million has been invested in research and development over the past two and half years at our R&D facility in the Netherlands to develop this technology for electric vehicles. After months of hard work and search for strategic partners and new shareholders, Detroit Electric has now emerged with scaleable and durable electric drive systems solution ready to deliver affordable everyday electric cars."

Proton is kind enough to lend us the test track, so members of the media had the opportunity to experience the driving power and pleasure of pure electric cars. Detroit Electric has to date integrated its electric drive systems into Lotus Elise's, two Proton passenger cars, Daihatsu-Cuore and VW Golf, with the intent to use these electric drive systems to development pure electric vehicles for volume production within the next 18 months.

Lam said that Detroit Electric is currently exploring the potential to license from Proton and Lotus their vehicles and platforms, amongst others, to create pure electric vehicles under the Detroit Electric Brand.

Apart from technology for passenger cars, Detroit Electric has plans to roll out electric buses which will be in deployed in Europe and Asia by the end of 2009.

“We believe that cars driven on renewable electric energy are the future of transportation, in light of worldwide environmental and rising fuel price issues. Our pure electric cars are environmentally friendly with 0% emission and performance on par with gasoline cars,” Lam said.

Detroit Electric is also planning to open an engineering and research & development centre outside of the Netherlands; and Malaysia has been earmarked as one of its possible locations.

“Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi’s vision and support in the use and development of green technology has created a fertile environment for a business such as ours. We are looking forward to a possible long term partnership with Malaysia moving forward,” Lam said.