After a serious bout of activity and publicity a couple of years ago, news from Detroit Electric, which was aiming to produce electric vehicles based on Proton’s Persona and GEN2 models, has pretty much gone quiet.
The company signed a supply and manufacturing agreement with Proton in March 2009, where it was to buy the Persona and GEN2, replace the CamPro engine with an electric motor drivetrain, and rebadge them as the Detroit Electric e63 and the e46 models. Later, it also inked a deal with Chinese automaker Dongfeng to use its battery-electric drivetrain technology for the latter’s models.
The e63 during the media introduction in September 2008.
Activity-wise, not much has been happening. Or perhaps there is – reader Kenneth Sow spotted an e63 in Subang Jaya yesterday, running a trade plate and with four passengers inside. The car was unmistakable, since it had bits and pieces of green stickers plastered all over it, along with the Detroit Electric logo pasted on the sides.
Sow reports that as the car was pulling off along NPE towards Subang, it was seen to be making small turns, as if testing out handling, and his observation of the car’s acceleration from 0-70kph (stop/go at traffic lights) was that it was excellent, despite carrying four people.
Which brings us to the question – is there something stirring in the mix, or is it merely a false alarm, it being the Proton boys doing an evaluation on the car as part of their EV studies?
