Current cars
Tony Mitchell is General Manager of CT&T Europe, the Amsterdam-based offshoot of Korean electric vehicle company CT&T. “We are sure that Europe is the prime growth market for electric mobility,” he says. “There are an increasing number of initiatives here aimed at switching to more sustainable electric modes of travel.” By 2020, the company expects 20 - 30% of all European cars to be electric.
CT&T coordinates all its European activities from Amsterdam – widely seen as the most advanced European city when it comes to policies promoting sustainable transport. "The city of Amsterdam has a separate electric mobility department,” says Tony Mitchell. “And it’s currently expanding the number of local recharging stations for electric cars to 2,000. People who buy an electric vehicle receive a financial subsidy, and do not have to pay road or purchase tax. All this makes the region especially interesting as a production and distribution base.”
This faith in the future of electric transport was the decisive factor CT&T’s choice of Amsterdam as its European base. Other factors were the good transport links with the rest of the continent and South Korea, the internationally minded professional population, and an established automotive logistics network.
Urban travellers
It was just eight years ago that Lee Young-gi and several of his colleagues at the Korean auto manufacturer Hyundai came up with the plan to start their own business. Having decided to produce electric vehicles, they started with electric golf carts but quickly moved on to cars. “Our vision is very different from other car manufacturers,” says Tony Michell. “We are not trying to make an electric copy of an existing model. Instead, we’re building electric vehicles to reflect the mobility needs of city residents.”
For urban travel, CT&T’s vehicles are clean and comfortable – and also cheap. Mitchell estimates the cost of an electric car at 7 euros per week, with a long driving lifetime per vehicle. Large-scale production makes the car price lower than that of competitor vehicles. Already, the eZone passenger model has been joined by the eVan and eBus. An electric boat and amphibious vehicle are planned.
Electric Amsterdam
Michell and his team started laying the groundwork for its European office a year ago. Amsterdam Electric became involved at an early stage. “Improving air quality in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area without having to make concessions in terms of accessibility is a major regional policy priority,” explains Maarten Linnenkamp of Amsterdam Electric. “We’re enthusiastic about CT&T’s arrival.”
In turn, CT&T appreciates the support of Amsterdam Electric. Particularly, it sees financial incentives as important in encouraging city dwellers to buy electric vehicles, which are often seen as an expensive option. Local partnerships are helping CT&T set up its European distribution and production network and adapt its vehicles to the traffic and safety regulations of individual European countries. Some of the company’s R&D may also be transferred to the Netherlands. “Its innovative design and development cluster is an interesting option for our company,” says Tony Mitchell.
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