Toronto's Zenn stops making electric cars

Toronto's Zenn stops making electric cars

September 28, 2009

FROM THE STAR'S WIRE SERVICES

In an apparently radical shift in plans, Toronto-based electric car company Zenn Motor Company Inc. says it decided to switch its business strategy from selling electric vehicles to distributing an electric drive train.

As a result, the company will no longer be building its cityZenn car, instead focusing on what its calls the ZENNergy drive train. This would be an EESU-powered drive train that can be installed in the cars of other automakers.

"The way things have really changed over the last year – there have been such dramatic shifts and focus on electric vehicles – it doesn't make a lot of business sense for us to go into the distribution and sale of the vehicle," said Zenn chief executive Ian Clifford.

Clifford, like the rest of the world, is still waiting for EEStor to come through with a pre-production battery.

"We are working on a daily basis with EEStor on this final milestone – this very, very critical milestone – because it takes us to commercial viability," Clifford said.

U.S.-based battery maker EEStor Inc. is developing a battery that aims to charge in minutes and power a car for 400 kilometres at speeds up to 125 km/h.

Zenn has a 10.5-per-cent stake in the company. Meanwhile, Clifford is in talks with other automakers who might be interested in EESU-powered cars. Zenn also has the exclusive rights to sell the technology for cars up to a maximum weight and retrofit cars more than one year old.

Zenn still plans to build proof-of- concept cars, but won't mass produce them.

The company in a statement said the its previously announced cityZenn highway-capable electric vehicle will not be developed into a standalone commercially available offering.

"Integration of the Zennergy drive in vehicles has always been our long-term objective," said Clifford.

"We want to partner with all OEMs (original equiment manufacturers) so that consumers can drive a variety of electric vehicles across numerous automotive brands with one common denominator–they are all powered by Zennergy." Zenn has built about 350 all-electricm, two -seater vehicles that sell for about $15,995 (U.S.) and have a range of 80 kilometres.

Why gold may be losing its lustre

If the past 30 years are any indication, gold does not constitute an attractive investment over the long term,' National Bank of Canada says

Virginia Galt

Globe and Mail Update Last updated on Monday, Sep. 28, 2009 06:40PM EDT

National Bank of Canada is revising its outlook for gold, following other forecasters who have questioned whether the metal's runup may be over.

Since 2005, National Bank economists have promoted gold as a commodity likely to improve the performance of investors' portfolios.

However, despite the recent rally that propelled the price of gold to new heights, National Bank economist Matthieu Arseneau said Monday that “it appears more and more clear to us that the time has come to revise our position.”

The weak U.S. dollar has been a major driver of this year's surge in the price of gold. However, the currency has recently been showing signs of stabilizing, and could be about to turn upward, National Bank chief economist Stéfane Marion said last week.

Following up with a research note Monday, Mr. Arseneau said “investors who dared place some of their eggs in gold in recent years have been nicely rewarded for what they did.

“However, the time has come now to revise their positions” as signs of a global economic recovery start to emerge, he said.

“Headwinds are building against the price of gold. Risk aversion is gradually returning to pre-crisis levels and inflation fears should abate,” Mr. Arseneau said in his report.

“If the past 30 years are any indication, gold does not constitute an attractive investment over the long term. Moreover, in times of economic recovery, the return on gold falls well short of the return on the stock market.”

Gold (GC-FT991.70-2.40-0.24%) edged down below $990 (U.S.) an ounce Monday as the U.S. dollar rose versus the euro, prompting a liquidation of long positions in the market after bullion failed to stay above $1,000 an ounce.

Mr. Arseneau noted that gold “has acquitted itself well as a safe haven by outperforming the S&P/500 over the course of the past two recessions.

“However, it is important not to hold on to this investment for too long: Historically, the return spread has swung far in favour of the stock market in the two years following a market trough.”