Perry talks to Gov. Sanford about his test drive in new DPS car, while Keel and state officials look on

The newest carmaker to set up shop in the state is South Korean manufacturer CT&T. They are joining with project management firm 2AM Group from Spartanburg to create low-priced, low-speed electric vehicles. Some of them are already sold in parts of the state and the company fashioned a model for the state Department of Public Safety’s Statehouse’s security detail.

State Public Safety Director Mark Keel says his department will have to adapt.

In the process of the days and weeks to come, we will learn how best to utilize this vehicle and its best use for us at the Bureau of Protective Services at the Department of Public Safety. So we’re excited about that because we know that there are uses for it. We have golf carts now and so now we’ve got something enclosed so that when the weather’s bad, we don’t have to get out of it and into something else.

CT&T will build and distribute eVehicles nationwide that are enclosed and drive more like cars, with car-like amenities. Artie Perry, President and CEO of 2AM Group:

We are working on a program that will also be able to add air conditions to these vehicles, possibly in the 2012 model year, maybe even sooner. That is when some of the affordability interests people and they’re going to start to recognize, “Wow, this is something I can live with.”

An eight-seat model demonstrated at the Statehouse is priced at $12,000 and the smaller vehicles are even less. [Read more...]