Electric Car Blogging

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Mazda

While both General Motors and Ford have shown extended range electric vehicle concepts, only the former has committed to producing such a vehicle. We have written endlessly here about the Chevrolet Volt, but now there may be a new challenger on the horizon from an unexpected corner. The Zoom-Zoom factory at Mazda may be developing an ER-EV. Unlike the Volt which uses a four-cylinder piston engine for a range extender, Mazda is reportedly planning to use a Wankel rotary. According to AutoCar, there is a running prototype in a Mazda 5 shell.

The rotary is an interesting choice for this application. Wankels produce a lot of power in a small package but typically aren’t very fuel efficient. While Mazda may have a running prototype, production likely won’t occur until battery costs drop.

[Source: AutoCar]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Mazda

While both General Motors and Ford have shown extended range electric vehicle concepts, only the former has committed to producing such a vehicle. We have written endlessly here about the Chevrolet Volt, but now there may be a new challenger on the horizon from an unexpected corner. The Zoom-Zoom factory at Mazda may be developing an ER-EV. Unlike the Volt which uses a four-cylinder piston engine for a range extender, Mazda is reportedly planning to use a Wankel rotary. According to AutoCar, there is a running prototype in a Mazda 5 shell.

The rotary is an interesting choice for this application. Wankels produce a lot of power in a small package but typically aren’t very fuel efficient. While Mazda may have a running prototype, production likely won’t occur until battery costs drop.

[Source: AutoCar]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Miles EV

Sometimes a tiny nugget of information with sizable implications can slip by in the truckloads of news we sift through everyday. Just yesterday, for instance, there was a small mention in the China Real News of an “high-speed Hafei Saibao electric car” passing an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) crash test. Big deal, right? Well, yes and no. A little digging helped us uncover that the test wasn’t actually conducted by the IIHS but rather by the China National Quality Control & Inspection Center for Automobiles and was meant to replicate the IIHS 40 percent frontal offset impact. Still no biggie until you realize that this car also very likely goes by the name of XS500 and that Miles Electric Vehicles is planning on selling it in the U.S. sometime next year. One of the worries about importing cars from China has been their past crash test performance (or lack thereof) and this test offers some insight into how well the XS500 may do when it comes time for its testing over here.

So, how did it fare? After a little more digging we found out it did quite well. After hitting the barrier at 40 mph, the injuries to the crash dummy were “lower than standard limited values” (We’re pretty sure that’s good). All the expensive stuff, including the lithium ion batteries, motor and controller survived intact and were still operable as well. There was no mention made of any side impact or other tests which vehicles must pass to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and although Miles declined to comment on the progress of their testing, this small tidbit does offer up some hope that their XS500 may indeed make it to the American market.

[Source: EV World / China Real News]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Chevrolet, GM

At a preview of GM’s 2009 model year lineup yesterday in Jolliet IL, Bob Lutz revealed that the production supplier for the Chevy Volt battery has been selected. Unfortunately, the GM Vice Chairman would not say which of the development suppliers had been selected. Two partnerships have been supplying prototype batteries to GM for the E-Flex program since late in 2007. LG Chem and its U.S. subsidiary Compact Power Inc have long been considered to be the leaders in the race to supply the most critical component of the Volt.

Continental and A123 have also been providing batteries but they ran behind CPI in initial pack deliveries. Lutz reiterated that a test fleet of production-intent Volts would be on the road being field tested by late 2009 ahead of a November 2010 retail launch.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, SMART, Tesla Motors

A few weeks back I did some informed but utterly unconfirmed speculation about the nature of the deal that Tesla Motors had struck with Daimler. Of the two scenarios that I posited, the more likely was that Tesla would be supplying lithium ion battery packs to Daimler for use in the electric version of the Smart ForTwo. The German edition of the Financial Times today has a story on the expansion of Daimler’s test fleet of battery powered Smarts from London into Berlin and other cities. In the story, it reveals that Tesla will be supplying batteries for the 150 cars that will be deployed in Berlin. Daimler is also teaming up with utility RWE to install 500 charging stations around the German capital. According to a Google translation of the story, the lithium-ion Smart will have a 90-mile range in urban driving. Daimler will eventually expand the test fleet to 1,000 cars. So far Tesla has not replied to a request for comment, but we’ll provide an update as soon as we here something. Thanks to Wilhelm for the tip!

Update: Tesla’s Darryl Siry declined to comment on the story at this time.

[Source: Financial Times Germany]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Chevrolet, GM

Click to enlarge

Is the vehicle pictured above the production Chevy Volt? It sure looks like it. It has the right greenhouse profile and judging from the head and tail-lights it looks an awful lot like the teaser shots that GM has been releasing lately. Perhaps the most telling detail though is the visible at the base of the A-pillar right in front of the mirror. The letters on that badge sure appear to spell out VOLT!. The car in this photo was shot during filming of Transformers 2 somewhere in Long Beach. So far calls to our contacts at GM are going unanswered but let you know as soon as we hear something. Thanks to Tony for the tip!

UPDATE: This is indeed the Volt! A video of the shoot has turned up that shows the car from above and clearly shows the rear end with a Chevy bowtie badge and prominent Volt logo. You can check out the video here and screen caps in the gallery below.

[Source: Transformers Live Action Blog]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle), UK

The London-based NICE (No Internal Combustion Engine) car company has issued a statement going full-throttle at the big automakers. The statement says that customers will have to “expect a long wait if they think that mainstream manufacturers” are going to start selling electric cars any soon. “It’s easy to get caught up in talk of an electric car revolution,” said NICE co-founder Evert Geurtsen. “However, we’d be very surprised if many of the all-electric sports cars, and other models that have been making headlines, hit showrooms within forecast time frames.” Of course, once they got our attention, NICE then added that they have already a full range of electric cars and electric bikes which are already available, two NEVs, the Mega City and the MyCar, and a small minivan, called Ze-O. Find the full statement after the jump.

[Source: NICE]

Continue reading NICE: big automakers won’t bring us electric cars

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Mitsubishi

The Wall Street Journal talked to Mitsubishi President Osamu Masuko ahead of this week’s Moscow Motor Show about some of the company’s recovery, its involvement in the Russian market and its plans for marketing electric vehicles. Masuko reiterated earlier announcements that the the iMiEV would go on sale in Japan next summer at a price of about ,400. Once production ramps up to higher levels Mitsubishi hopes to drive the price down under ,000. Initially the iMiEV will be in right hand drive only with a left hand drive model coming in 2010. The company hasn’t decided on U.S. sales yet. That will depend on the results of field tests with California utilities beginning late this year. Mitsubishi has questions about the U.S. infrastructure and whether this particular car is suitable for use in the U.S. Initial volumes will be low with about 2,000 the first year and doubling each year for the next couple of years. Mitsubishi has already announced plans to increase the planned production volumes of batteries from its joint venture with Yuasa. According to Masuko, the company has no plans to build hybrids but will look at plug-in hybrids down the road. Check out the video after the jump. Thanks to Mark for the tip!

[Source: Wall Street Journal]

Continue reading VIDEO: Mitsubishi boss talks about electric car plans

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