All posts tagged electric cars
Swapping from petrol to power: range anxiety with gas vs electricity
One of the catch phrases for not buying an electric car is the fact that its range might be well below any individual car driver’s needs. We looked at how electric vehicles in Europe can appeal purely on a cost basis, but it seems one thing preventing people from purchasing electric cars is the so-called “range anxiety”. Despite car companies’ declarations that any one vehicle can travel from 50-100 km, that probably isn’t very indicative if you’re driving to work everyday, popping off on weekend trips and trying to figure out where and when you can recharge your vehicle before you actually take the leap and purchase an electric car.
So Autobloggreen comes to the rescue with an article from Treehugger about how to plan whether an electric car is for you. And it’s very simple: do some practice range anxiety with your fuel-powered vehicle and try to convert that to what you might use in an electric vehicle. There are two steps a driver needs to follow:
1. How far you drive between stops that could be places you’d recharge your EV.
2. How long your stops are at these places (so you can estimate how much extra juice you’ll get in the time parked there).
More after the jump.
Continue reading: Swapping from petrol to power: range anxiety with gas vs electricity
Exagon Engineering Furtive-eGT coupé
Exagon Engineering has developed the Furtive-eGT electric coupé 2+2 model which will be presented at the 2010 Paris Motor Show come the end of the week. The high-performance coupé has two Siemens motors driven by Saft batteries. Each motor produces 168 hp and with a small petrol-fuelled generator, the Furtive-eGT has a range of 800 km. Top speed is 250 km/hr and the sprint to 100 km/hr takes just 3.5 seconds. Currently the Exagon Furtive-eGT won’t remain just a prototype model, with production of 100 units a year planned from 2012.
Pininfarina Nido EV presented
The Pininfarina Nido EV has had its official presentation in what is a departure from Pininfarina tradition in its 80th year. While famous for its chassis and design efforts on some of Italy’s most beautiful sports cars, the Pininfarina Nido is the company’s take on an electric citycar. It might seem a strange thing for Pininfarina to have produced given its origins, but the Nido fits what the company describes as a focus on “design, sustainable mobility and brand value”.
The Nido is not currently a production model, as Pininfarina is waiting for someone to buy the rights to production, but it has all the potential a city car might need with the possibility of a 2+2 set-up and hybrid or electric drivetrains. What’s more, Pininfarina believes that a light commercial vehicle could even be squeezed out of this design.
The prototype has been designed on a tubular trellis frame made of steel but which would probably be substituted by an aluminium space frame for the series model. It would be designed in such a way as to adapt to two-seater, 2+2, pickup and light van models. Currently the Nido is 2.9 metres long, 1.68 metres wide and 1.5 tall with a weight of less than 900 kg. The rear motor weighs another 182 kg and is fed by a Zebra Z5 sodium-nickel battery that claims a 140-kg range.
Citroen Survolt on track video: takes on Agni Z2 electric superbike
The Citroen Survolt hasn’t made the kind of splash we get from Ferrari models, or the new McLaren MP4-12C, but it has a discrete fascination all its own and we’d be thrilled to see more of it. While a production model may or may not be developed, here’s another look at the Survolt on the track in this video.
This time around we get two super electric vehicles as the Survolt appears alongside the electric superbike Agni Z2. The Survolt is again driven by Vanina Ickz, while we see Jenny Tinmouth from the Tourist Trophy TTXGP series take to the Z2 saddle. If you’re into technical track stuff, this video is for you. The Survolt has two electric motors that achieve 300 hp and a top speed of 260 km/hr, while acceleration time to 100 km/hr is less than five seconds.
Peugeot iOn at Paris show
The new Peugeot iOn model will be presented at the 2010 Paris Motor Show at the end of this month, and in the pics you can see its final look. The model, one of the sister models to the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, will go on sale across European markets in the next few months, and will be offered in France in a kind of leasing arrangement.
The Peugeot iOn is equipped with an 88 cell lithium ion battery which powers an electric motor capable of achieving 64 hp and 180 Nm of torque. We won’t bother you with acceleration statistics, but the iOn has a range of 150 km and can get to a top speed of 130 km/hr.
The range seems almost too good to be true, considering the general daily kilometre run required of anyone completing city driving. Peugeot also declares that with a 220 V outlet, the iOn can recharge in six hours, while with a 380 V connection you can get 50 percent recharge in 15 min, or 80 percent in half an hour.
Mercedes A-Class electric at Paris motor show
Mercedes-Benz will produce 500 E-Cell A-Class models with electric technology and will reveal the new car at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. The A-Class electric production comes after collaboration with Tesla Motors and the car will be ready for market early next year. The A-Class uses Tesla battery packs and controllers resulting in a range of 200 km and torque of about 290 Nm.
Further technical details are to be released on September 15 but so far the battery is Tesla’s original 40 kW unit with 4,000 cells. According to reports, performance could even overtake that of the standard, petrol-driven A-Class. Given the conservative nature of the company, it was apparently Tesla who pushed to produce the model, providing proof of concept from the outset by procuring an A-Class (which are not available in the US) and developing a prototype.
While Mercedes had already produced the Smart ForTwo Electric, we think an A-Class electric could be an alternative to the struggling microcar brand, although it won’t be going mainstream. Instead, the E-Cell A-Class will be reserved for fleets and private customers interested in a Daimler electric vehicle. But if the Smart electric is too small and there’s a market out there, this will be one to watch in the future.
Source | New York Times
Electric cars: Europe vs the US
When we say that a vehicle is Euro 5 compliant, or will be Euro 6 compliant once it’s on the market and that new law comes into effect, here in Europe that actually means something quite significant. It means you can happily travel the town centres on days when they’re shut to more polluting traffic, you might get some big incentives for a new car and more importantly, you know you’re saving some precious euros on what is becoming more and more expensive fuel.
It may take some time before hybrid and electric cars make real inroads in the European car market but often there’s no easier way to stimulate uptake of something than to make sure it appeals to the hip pocket. Which is why, according to research figures, hybrid and electric cars on the US market will take longer to be adopted - because fuel is just too cheap there.
The figures above show that US fuel prices are the lowest of all the nations that were studied for this particular project. It appears that any economic argument for going electric in America is redundant giving the figures - why would you bother driving a car that might not appeal and having all the recharge hassle for just $813 savings every year?
While Autobloggreen says that the initial choice to go electric in the US will likely be driven by the desire to be environmentally responsible, we still think money smells stronger than fresh air. There’s no better way to get the project off the ground than making it more economical. Although we still haven’t seen a surge in electric sales in Europe so maybe we’re a way off yet. But rest assured that if people can make enough of a saving, they’ll switch.
Source | Autobloggreen
BMW Megacity on show at 2012 London Olympics
A near production version of the BMW Megacity vehicle will be prepared for show at the 2012 London Olympics. If they wanted some publicity for their new electric car, what better way to get it than at one of the world’s biggest events? The Megacity will be an electric citycar model which should go on sale in 2013.
The idea for BMW in presenting it at the London Olympics is that it will prove that BMW is a market leader in electric cars. It’s a line that will probably work with most punters and we have no doubt that BMW will produce a very nice electric car - but so far it’s a bit behind in the game compared to some other manufacturers (Nissan and Renault to name two).
The BMW Megacity should be a rear-wheel-drive car with a 100 kW motor powered by batteries. BMW is planning a carbon fibre cell to keep weight down, and it should have some storage/boot space despite its citycar dimensions. We can’t wait to see it and are expecting a fancy but appropriately German launch around Olympic time in 2012 - it will be marketed under a new sub-brand so perhaps BMW will have a surprise new look marketing campaign for us.
Source | WCF
Video: Renault Fluence Z.E and the environmental workshop
If you want a glimpse into the world of producing electric cars, this video from Renault on the Fluence Z.E gives us some idea as to the development and investment required in projects of this kind. The Fluence is just one Renault’s electric line-up which also includes the Kangoo, Zoe and Twizy. The main player in this video is the Fluence, which will be released in mid-2011.
Lance Armstrong and the Nissan Leaf
Nissan recently released this ad for their Leaf that offers zero tail pipe emissions, 100% electric ride and their official spokesperson is none other than the seven time Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong.
Nissan chose Lance Armstrong as the first recipient of the Leaf (he’ll be getting it September) and in this commercial the cycling champion narrates: “In 20 years of cycling even when I was ahead, I was always behind. Behind cars, behind trucks, behind those guys. Tailpipe after tailpipe after tailpipe. Until now.”
The Leaf will be sold in the United States in December 2010 and will also be available in December in Japan, the Netherlands and Portugal. Sales are expected to begin in Ireland and the United Kingdom in February 2011 and Nissan recently announced that it has sold out the 13,000 production run for the December launch of the car.
Video after the jump.
Renault to produce 200,000 electric vehicles a year from 2015
Renault is on the road to proving that its electric car plans are not just good intentions, with reports that it intends to produce 200,000 electric cars a year from 2015. We’re hoping that the infrastructure we need to support the electric vehicles of the future will be in place, and companies like Renault won’t be held hostage on electric plans due to lack of recharging networks.
The largest part of the 200,000 electric cars will be made up of the Renault Zoe. It will be launched in 2012 on the basis of the next Clio platform and should be produced in 150,000 units from 2015. The reports come from French daily La Tribune, quoting internal sources at Renault who have also left us with a “no comment” on the production percentage of electric vehicles.
According to the reports, come 2015, Renault electric car production will be more than 5% of its total production figures. Other companies should be sticking to about the five percent figure, meaning Renault could be set to make its mark on the electric car market in Europe in the very near future.
Renault: test drives open to the public for the new Kangoo BeBop Z.E.
The electric Renault Kangoo BeBop Z.E. will soon be available for test drives open to the public. The electric car born in France wants to reveal to everyone what it’s made of, and it intends to put its best foot forward and show off its best attributes. First and foremost: its self-sufficiency, already at acceptable standards today, but which will improve in the future. The Kangoo BeBop Z.E. is capable of traveling 100 km with just one charge-up, but in the 18 months that separate it from its current state to its marketing, it is forseen to reach up to 160 km.
The Kangoo BeBop Z.E. will be one of the first electric models that Renault-Nissan will put into production in 2011, and it represents a first step in the project towards travel with zero emissions that the well-armoured French-Japanese coupling is starting for the upcoming years. The objective of Renault-Nissan, reaffirmed numerous times, is to conquest this new market right from the beginning.
The little all-capable French car, in particular, was planned keeping in mind three fundamental characteristics of the trademark, that is comfort, space, and safety. These three parameters, the company has affirmed, will remain constant in the advent of electric vehicles.
Continue reading: Renault: test drives open to the public for the new Kangoo BeBop Z.E.
Follow us
eurocarblog is part of the Blogo.it network of blogs. Contacts About us.
© 2005-2010 Blogo.it, P. IVA 04699900967, some rights reserved under a Creative Commons license.