Electric Car Blogging

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, China, Middle East

Chinese automaker BYD has announced that it is going to start selling electric cars in Israel by 2009, as well as European markets in the following years. The planned models are the BYD E6 and a Plug-in Hybrid F6DM, which will benefit from Israel’s soon-to-be installed electric charging stations network although I don’t know what Nissan-Renault/Better Place think about this.

The specs for the cars don’t look bad, so let’s hope they reach our expectations. The BYD E6 seats 5 and runs from 0-100 km/h in about 10 seconds, and uses BYD’s own lithium-ion iron phosphate batteries, stored behind the rear seats. The F6DM hybrid is a mid-sized sedan with a range of 62 miles (100 km) in the all-electric mode and 267 miles (430 km) total.

[Source: BYD via Gasgoo]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in

Many of you who have been pestering us in the comments for the past couple of years about wanting to invest in A123 Systems and you may now have your chance. A123 is the Massachusetts based company that has developed a lithium ion battery chemistry based on nano particle iron phosphate. A123 has two deals to provide development batteries for GM’s Saturn Vue plug-in hybrid and Chevrolet Volt ER-EV as well as a deal with Norwegian EV maker Th!nk. The startup battery company has filed the initial SEC paperwork for an initial public offering of stock. So far A123 hasn’t indicated when a stock sale will take place although sometime in the first half of 2009 is likely to be the earliest possibility. No word on pricing but a prospectus should be available soon.
[Source: A123 Systems]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Solar

We just got tipped that Sunmotor, an electric vehicle hopeful based in Boston, plans to release its first product in America. It’s solar and electric powered car ain’t pretty, that’s for sure. In side profile from wheel-to-wheel, you’ll notice that Sunmotor’s car is a clear smart fortwo knock-off. We wish it stayed that way, but the front and rear glass of the EV takes its own styling direction. And it’s an extremely unfortunate one. We are guessing that the car’s designers wanted to maximize the available roof space for solar cells, but that’s not much consolation for such reprehensible styling.
Top speed is limited to to 25 miles per hour, or about 40 kilometers per hour, a speed which Sunmotor claims can be reached in just over 5 seconds. Weighing in at 2,600 pounds, there is plenty of weight for the 10 horsepower motor to push around. As enviro-sensitive bloggers, we can appreicate what Sunmotor is hoping to accomplish, but we’ll believe this one when we see it.

[Source: Sunmotor LLC]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Nissan

Nissan unveiled the latest edition of prototype electric Cube a few days ago as part of an advanced technology forum in Japan. Unfortunately ABG didn’t get an invite to this event. Popular Mechanics however did have someone on hand and he got to sample the EV-02. The Cube stores electrical energy in a lithium ion battery pack, but Nissan officials told PM that the battery chemistry has not been settled yet. Nissan is apparently still testing at least 16 different battery chemistries trying to find the optimum combination of power and energy capacity. Nissan’s target is to have a range of at least 100 miles but they would prefer 150 miles. In addition to a decent range, engineers also want to achieve the ability to get an 80 percent charge in 15 minutes. They will have to come up with a chemistry that can withstand such fast charging but special high-powered charging stations will be required as well. The first early production versions for commercial and government fleet tests should appear in 2010 with retail sales two years later.

[Source: Popular Mechanics]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, On Two Wheels, European Union

A few months ago, we spoke about the Government of Cantabria, Spain, and its BioBike project to promote the use of electric bikes. The program just got an additional boost when that Government supplied 16 electric bikes to the main media of the region to promote its use and visibility. During six months, reporters will be able to use the bikes for free and report about the benefits of electric motoring. Additionally, the City Hall of Santander, the capital city of Cantabria, got 8 additional units for the local patrol and traffic sections. Other institutions such as other Region’s police squads have gotten additional motorbikes as well.

[Source: Piquio]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, USA

A little while back we told you about a ,000 highway-speed electric car promised for the American market by Green Vehicles called the Triac. It seems, as with every other electric car program (except, so far, Aptera), that the launch has been delayed and now a new estimated delivery schedule has been posted on their website. While the company informs us that test drives from the San Jose showroom can be scheduled as of August 15th, the actual driving won’t occur until after October 15th. According to the update the first deliveries to customers already in their queue will begin in October as well. The company hopes to produce at least 50 vehicles a month to start and raise their output to between 100 to 200 in the second quarter of 2009.

You may not have to travel all the way to Northern California for your Triac tryout for too long either. Company president, Ehab Youssef informs us that they’ve received interest from over 100 dealers. Of course, if you are not fortunate to be located near one of the soon-to-be-chosen retailers, the company says they can deliver throughout the lower forty-eight states though that will cost extra. We will try to keep you apprised of any further developments as we wait for our own bit of quality wheel time. Thanks to Matthew for the tip!

[Source: Green Vehicles]

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

Those folks in America wanting to buy an all-electric Mitsubishi i MiEV sometime in the future now have a reason for increased optimism. The company has just announced agreements with both Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG & E) and Southern California Edison (SCE) to test how the vehicles fare under California’s driving conditions. Amongst the quotes that accompanies these sorts of press releases lies a hint that at least one of the utilities is already considering charging infrastructure for the state. Behold the statement of Andrew Tang, senior director at PG&E: “Partnering with automakers like Mitsubishi is vital to developing compatible infrastructures.” Sounds promising, no?

MiMoCo has already partnered with seven different utilities in Japan for testing which must have gone quite well as they are planning on retailing the car there in 2009. Although the EV may be sold in England as early as 2010, according to an earlier statement by Tohru Hashimoto, the kei car may be slightly up-sized before it comes to America although the powertrain should remain the same. Press releases from both Californian utilities await your scrutiny after the break.

[Source: Reuters / Mitsubishi Motor Co.]

Continue reading Mitsubishi iMiEV to get tested in California in Q4 2008!

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, European Union

Usually news from France about EV cars are good. The country started developing electric versions of models very early, although most projects were halted in the mid-90s when problems with battery technology arose. With the newest technologies, specifically lithium-ion batteries, the things are starting to work again and we’ve had quite a number of interesting projects lately, such as the Dassault/Heuliez Cleanova, Pininfarina/Bolloré BlueCar or the Nissan-Renault projects around the world.

One of the reasons behind such development is a fiscal change, pointed to us by our reader Justin. Up to 50 percent of the expenses of developing EV cars became deductible under a recent tax reform. The hopes are that France will have a competitive EV industry that could help save its auto industry.

[Source: El Mundo]

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