Electric Car Blogging

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, India, Tata

The Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) Annual Expo is happening in New Delhi and Tata Motors has chosen this venue in which to show off a prototype of their upcoming all-electric Indica. Although we had previously told you it exists and would be built in Norway, thanks to Cubic Capacity, we can now show you some pictures of the interior, exterior and under the hood.

There aren’t many technical details yet available besides that it sports a single speed transmission and a 120-mile range but we have learned of a few interesting developments. We can say it is to built by Norway’s Miljobil Grenland who is also rumoured to be putting the “E” in E-Nano, an all-electric version of the new “people’s car” from Tata. Also, perhaps by coincidence, Miljobil Grenland is also the company who just signed a supply agreement with Canadian firm Electrovaya for its SuperPolymer lithium ion batteries. Tata is planning on selling the Indica EV first in Norway sometime next year before bringing it home to India within two years.

[Source: Cubic Capacity]

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

Just days after we got a hint of what the production 2011 Chevrolet Volt would look like from some folks who spotted one during filming of Transformers 2, we now have official photos of the actual car. Someone apparently leaked out a series of studio shots of Volt with some of the executives leading development of the car. Vehicle Line Executive Tony Posawatz, Chief Engineers Frank Weber and Andrew Farah, Design lead Bob Boniface and of course Maximum Bob Lutz are caught posing with GM’s new star. The car is expected to officially debut next Tuesday during GM’s centennial celebrations at the Renaissance Center. The basic shape we saw on the movie car appears to be the same but it varies in some details. The shoulder area at the bottom of the side windows is blacked out to replicate some of the look of the original concept. Given that the Volt shares its basic platform with the new Chevy Cruze, it’s no surprise that it appears to be about the same size. So far we haven’t been able to reach GM for a comment but hopefully we’ll have higher res images soon.

[Source: The Car Connection]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Nissan, Paris Motor Show

Click above for high-res gallery of Nissan’s Paris Motor Show lineup

Nissan is planning on showing three new cars at the Paris Motor Show next month. Two of them are conventional small cars that we’ve already got photos of. The third is a battery powered 2+1 seat micro-car called the Nuvu. We don’t yet know what the Nuvu will look like or whether it will give a hint of what to expect when Nissan introduces a production EV in 2010. The Nuvu is only three meters long which should make it an interesting challenger to the new electric smart.

On the conventional side, Nissan will launch the Pixo, a collaborative effort with Suzuki based on the latter company’s Alto. The Pixo and Alto are both being built at a factory in Delhi, India. The little four door, five seater is moved along by a 1.0L three cylinder. For those that need something a bit larger, Nissan will also show a refreshed edition of the Note. The Note gets an all-new front end to enclose the gas or diesel engines. With the 1.5L diesel, the Note gets a carbon dioxide emissions rating of just 119 g/km, exempting it from congestion charges in an increasing number of cities.

[Source: Nissan]

Continue reading Paris Preview: Nissan to intro new mini-cars, EV concept

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in

Canadian battery developer Electrovaya has reached an agreement with Norway’s Miljobil Grenland to supply energy storage systems. Miljobil Grenland has been manufacturing electrically driven vehicles since 1997 and is partly owned by utilities Skagerak Energi and Norsk Hydro. As part of the deal, Electrovaya will get an equity stake in the car maker. The batteries will be based on Electrovaya’s SuperPolymer lithium ion technology. SuperPolymer is a battery construction technique that isn’t dependent on a particular chemistry. Thus, it’s compatible with different electrode materials for different applications. So far there is no word on when the car might appear or where it will be available.

[Source: Electrovaya]

Continue reading Electrovaya to supply batteries to Norwegian EV maker

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Filed under: Economy, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Plants/Manufacturing, Toyota

Even with the ,000 difference between the Prius and non-hybrid Toyotas, there was a time when Toyota lost money on the car. Even when the car entered the black, and even though they halved the cost of the hybrid system from one generation to the next, Toyota still didn’t make the margins on it that they did with their go-to sedans. Yet with plans to start making batteries for the Hybrid Synergy Drive in the U.S., Toyota says it should be able to halve costs again, and bring the next-gen Prius profit to near parity with the Corolla.

Toyota doesn’t know where or when it will start building batteries in the States. The company says “it’s difficult to make the main parts of batteries outside of Japan,” but didn’t explain why that was the case. From 2010, the Prius will be manufactured in Toyota’s Mississippi plant, however, that doesn’t mean the battery plant will be nearby.

Toyota moved up the date to offer the plug-in Priuses to government and fleet operators to the end of 2009. Right now, Toyota says the Prius gets 13 miles on battery power alone. If the plug-in Prius does arrive in a year or so, and with a substantially higher range — and that is a ginormous “if” — then it has a chance of upstaging the Chevy Volt, which appears to be what Toyota is aiming for.

[Source: Automotive News, sub req'd]

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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Chevrolet, GM

Though its first official public debut isn’t scheduled until early next week, the 2011 Chevy Volt has been introduced to the internet early courtesy of the The Car Connection, which published these apparently official pictures of the revolutionary series hybrid today. In the past few weeks we’ve seen official teasers shots of the car mixed with spy video taken on the set of Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, all of which have only served to increase excitement ahead of the car’s official debut next week. These pics give up the goods like no others, however, and show various GM execs and engineers directly responsible for its development posing alongside like proud papas. The list includes, in order, Tony Posawatz, Bob Lutz, Bob Boniface, Frank Weber, and Andrew Farah.

What we see is a vehicle about the size of the current Chevy Cobalt or next-gen Cruze with a very aerodynamic front end and high rear decklid. There are some futuristic design elements too, including the LED fog lights, black expanse beneath the windows and Volt badging attached to the sideview mirrors. Perhaps the most poignant pic of all is Lutz himself doing a double-handed lean on the production Volt, as GM’s product czar has been the most visible figure during the car’s very public development.

Check out all the pics in our gallery below and let us know what you think of the Volt’s transfer from concept to production car in the comments.

[Source: GM, The Car Connection]

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Economy, Hybrids/Alternative, Euro, Green, Hatchbacks, Volkswagen

Debuting in concept form today is the most fuel efficient and cleanest version of Volkswagen’s sixth-generation Golf. Wearing the BlueMotion badge, as is common for VeeDubs with fuel-saving tweaks, the new Golf is able to complete the European driving cycle mileage tests with a rather epic 74 miles per gallon (around 62 mpg in the U.S. if conversions can be trusted). For those who like to keep track of such things, that’s just 99g/km of carbon emissions and an excellent score by any measure. In order to achieve such low fuel consumption and emissions, the Golf BlueMotion is bestowed with a miserly 1.6-liter TDI common rail diesel engine that kicks out 105 horses and 184 lbs.-ft. of torque at a low 2,000 rpm. Low rolling resistance tires, aero tweaks and revised gearing all help the cause. Though still just a concept, there is little doubt that this model or one very similar will debut a few months after the the standard Golf in Europe next year. In the U.S.? Don’t hold your breath, though a Golf TDI sold in the States may happen eventually.

[Source: Volkswagen]

Continue reading VW unveils 74 mpg Golf BlueMotion Concept

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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Chevrolet, GM

EPA mileage estimates can be such fuzzy things when you’re dealing with hybrid powertrains. We’ve seen plenty of contention already about real-world results versus EPA numbers for current hybrids, and Chevrolet’s upcoming Volt has GM butting heads with the Feds over how the series hybrid eFlex powertrain should be rated. Because the Volt can cover about 40 miles before it needs to fire its range-extending internal combustion engine, it can breeze through the EPA’s test cycle with the engine off for 85 percent of the time. With the engine running so little, the Volt could earn an EPA rating above 100 mpg, but the agency is not comfortable with that and wants to change the test for the Volt.

GM argues that altering the test in the way the EPA proposes — requiring the Volt finish the test with batteries near full charge — is unfair and won’t reflect reality. Moreover, in everyday commuting, the Volt will be an electric car for its first 40 miles, not ever even firing its engine for drivers with commutes short enough or recharging ability at work. The EPA’s motivation is to come up with a meaningful mileage rating for the Volt, which will ace the current test. If the Volt gets a rating that is artificially low because the EPA can’t figure out a test that correlates to reality, it could also hurt the Volt’s case with consumers looking at the ,000 price tag next to numbers barely better than what a diesel or parallel hybrid can earn.

[Source: Motor Trend]

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