The Opel Ampera’s first image has been released, although the presentation as such is actually a trip from Rüsselsheim to Geneva, where it will likely appear at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. The Opel Ampera is the European sister to General Motors’ other electric car, the Chevrolet Volt. After the initial Ampera concept was presented at last year’s Geneva show, it’s going into production as a “range extending” vehicle, and not a hybrid car.

The Ampera front has undergone some slight changes, and front indicators are now included in the boomerang-shaped headlight set-up. The rear vision mirrors also include indicators but the overall profile and side design are so similar that this version looks pratically identical. The Ampera has a Voltec platform with a 1.4-litre aspirated engine with 100 hp and range extender. The battery/fuel combination gives the Ampera a 60 km zero-emission range, and a 500 km extended range. The fuel motor acts as a generator to the batteries, which can also be recharged via a 230V socket. For more details on how it works, see the Ampera website.

Continue reading: Opel Ampera first official pic

The Citroen C-Zero electric city car has been presented, equipped with a magnetic synchronous motor with 64 hp (or 47 kW) and 180 Nm of torque between 0 and 200 rpm. The synchronous motor works like an induction motor, but off a magnetic field that requires no slip to run, and the C-Zero uses one single-speed reduction grear to send power to the rear axle. The unit is powered by a 330volt lithium ion battery pack for its light weight and durability.

The C-Zero is a joint effort between Citroen and Mitsubishi, and is the French firm’s version of the Mitsubishi iMIEV. Peugeot also has its version, called the iOn. The C-Zero will go into production in 2010 and will join the DS3 and C3 low-emissions versions as part of an effort to reduce CO2 emissions across the range. It will expand to include the first Citroen hybrid, the DS5, in 2011.

The Citroen C-Zero has a range of nearly 130 km, and a top speed of about 130 km/hr as well. It does 0-100 in 15 secs, and has a recharge time of about six hours in a normal 220-volt socket. Using a 400-volt outlet you can get an 80 percent fast charge in just 30 minutes. See the new C-Zero in the pics below, with the video after the jump (it’s a silly video - check out the first C-Zero video here for some better enviro messages).

Citroen C-Zero

Continue reading: Citroen C-Zero electric city car: environment vs luxury yachts

The Fiat 2010 New Year commercial is less about wishing you a Happy New Year and more about showing you the hopes for the Fiat-Chrysler deal for 2010. With a few historic images, very Italian in nature, we’re taken to the Fiat 500 cruising some world famous American sites. It’s a strange video for the local Italian audience, as if they needed convincing about the Fiat-Chrysler deal.

Another European manufacturer focussed on something more ecological for the New Year, with Renault producing a New Year video about its electric cars. With highly recognisable footage from recreation to environmental disasters, the Renault commercial closes with a brief look at the Renault Zoe: one of the family of Renault electrics made up of the Twizy, Fluence and Z.E. See the video after the jump.

Continue reading: Fiat and Renault: New Year commercials on Chrysler deal and electric cars

The Audi E-Tron test drive by the Los Angeles Times is seen in this video, although it’s unlikely to tell you anything you didn’t already know. We don’t get an idea of what it feels like to actually drive the E-Tron, and the torque figures quoted are likely to be those of the wheels, and not the output shaft, which has created some controversy.

The driver of this test, Dan Neil, gives us some insight into what kind of car the E-Tron is like in his written article. He says:

Like all electric cars, the batteries are the biggest concern. The e-tron uses a lithium-ion pack sourced from Sanyo with a total capacity of 53 kWh, but only about 43 kWh is usable storage. Max discharge is a healthy 230 amps. According to Krauter, the car will have two settings for regenerative braking, one normal and one sporty — which is to say, you lift off the gas and the aggressive regen will instantly slow the car down as if it had piled into a load of sand. No coasting.

Continue reading: Audi E-Tron test drive video

The BMW Concept ActiveE will be released at the Detroit auto show in January. Based on the 1-Series coupe, it is equipped with an electric engine with 170 hp and lithium ion batteries. This video teaser of the Concept ActiveE, with Efficient Dynamics, focuses on the comfort and space of the vehicle.

Continue reading: BMW Concept Active E video teaser

These pics of the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive show the electric car in Monte Carlo, where Smart has an agreement with Monaco to deliver ten units for use in public companies. The initiative starts from next spring and is part of a pre-launch program for the two-seater electric Smart. The program is also extended to Italy where the Smart ForTwo Electric will appear in 100 units with energy company Enel, for use in Rome, Milan and Pisa.

Smart Electric Drive

Continue reading: Smart ForTwo electric drive pics from Monte Carlo

The European car market is changing, with Eastern Europe enjoying larger shares of production and manufacturing. The hugely successful Fiat 500, for example, is made in Poland, and Renault is now continuing this trend of moving manufacturing elsewhere with the announcement that the electric prototype Renault Fluence, first on show at the 2009 IAA Frankfurt motor show, will be produced in the Bursa factory in Turkey.

This announcement completes the various facilities destined to produce Renault’s electric cars, with the the Zoé and Kangoo Express Z.E. being made in France, the Twizy in Spain and the Fluence in Turkey. Production will commence in the first six months of 2011.

For Renault this is merely a natural step to take, as the Fluence will be assembled at the same facilities as the fuel version, meaning a quick start to the project and easy transition to the electric assembly function. However, Renault makes the point that this is also a cost measure, ensuring that the electric Fluence makes it to market with a competitive price tag.

Renault Fluence Z.E.

Continue reading: Electric Renault Fluence production in Turkey

Citroen’s new electric car C-Zero has been presented in the form of an electric city car which will debut on the market by the end of 2010. The car is based on the Mitsubishi I-Miev, as was the Peugeot iOn, with a slightly different look. The C-Zero is equipped with a 64 hp engine with 180 Nm of torque, and lithium ion batteries with a range of about 130 km. The top speed is 130 km/hr and acceleration to 100 km/hr occurs in about 15 seconds (we must bear in mind this is a city car).

Battery recharge time takes about six hours with a 220V outlet, but 80 percent recharge can also be achieved in just 30 minutes with a dedicated lead. The C-Zero measures 3.48 metres long, with a wheel base of 2.55 metres and a boot measuring 166 litres.

It’s a four-seater, for you and your commuting buddies, and has power steering, ABS, six airbags, electric windows, and air conditioning. No prices have been released, but given the various eco-incentives in Europe, you could look to save up to 5,000 euros. The first video is after the jump.

Continue reading: Citroen C-Zero electric city car presented

The Fiat-Chrysler alliance is working on a joint electric car, making use of Chrysler’s know-how in electric engine technology. The news has been confirmed by Alfredo Altavilla from Chrysler, and is the first open recognition of the project.

Fiat will officially present its plans for the future of the Fiat-Chrysler partnership on November 4th, when hopefully we will have full knowledge of the Fiat group models headed for the US, and an idea of how the electric car will fit into that plan.

Source | Il sole 24 ore

Continue reading: Fiat-Chrysler electric car confirmed

The Audi E-Tron will go into production, according to an interview with Audi America president Johan de Nysschen. An electric vehicle based on the E-Tron will appear in the US in two to three years time, and hear’s hoping it will take on the Quattro technology in electronic form.

Like the E-Tron concept, based originally on the R8, this would involve an electric motor on each of the four wheels, producing 313 hp and 4,500 Nm of torque. It will not be the first electric technology from Audi to reach the market, with the Q5 hybrid crossover set to appear in 2011. I really wanted to write, bring it on! in the first sentence, as that is, frankly, our sentiment over here regarding a production version of the exciting E-Tron concept.

Source | Autoweek

Continue reading: Audi E-Tron to enter production

The Renault electric concept vehicles presented at Frankfurt were Twizy, Zoe, Fluence and the Z.E previously seen at Paris. The company has ambitious plans for its range of electric vehicles, stating that they will be widespread in the future. If things go according to plan, the Z.E cars, currently in concept form, will be available on the market in 2011, in a comprehensive range of European zero emissions vehicles.

The problem with most car companies committing to electric vehicles is, as always, the lack of infrastructure and articulated plans by government and industry to make infrastructure available. And so, Renault will be building its electric vehicles with a standard recharge time of between four and eight hours. The Z.E cars will all be equipped with external recharge points, and will even be fitted with a ‘Quickdrop’ system meaning the entire battery package can be substituted in three minutes.

The claims of “widespread” dominance of the market probably won’t happen with the Renault Twizy, the most original of the four prototypes. We find it hard to see how this car, based on motorcycle concepts (and, lets face it, motorcycle comfort, too). Despite this, it has a 2012 debut planned, with its 15kW motor. We think it may not see the light, but the market, and the car itself, may change in that time.

Continue reading: Renault electric concepts from Frankfurt

General Motors‘ European president Carl-Peter Foster has apparently said the Opel will build a compact electric car at an affordable price for the city car segment of the market, as reported by German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

The new Opel city electric would be built from an all-new platform which would be the basis of future compact cars to follow suit. The aim is to create a new family of compact cars, starting with the electric vehicle to debut in 2012.

Apparently GM Europe is investing 250 million euros in the project, so we can assume they’re serious. Watch this space for future developments.

Source | Autoblog.it

Continue reading: Opel to make electric city car family from 2012