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In reporting on a $350 million funding round for Better Place, we said that we doubted another automaker besides Nissan-Renault is building vehicles that would work with the company’s battery-swapping system. Might a report in Globes prove us wrong? According to the Israeli business news site, the “Chinese media” has disclosed that the Chery-Quantum joint venture (a 50 percent stake of which is held by Israel Corp., Better Place’s chief investor) is designing a compact electric jeep at a studio in Milan code-named T21. Said jeep would have a “double floor” that will accommodate a swappable battery they suggest may use cells from A123 and generally resemble a small version of the Chery Tiggo. Got all that? Is it true?

While we finally had to admit defeat in finding a Chinese media outlet discussing a creature exactly as described by Globes, we did find reference to a T21. From what we can tell from those reports, the T21 is not a jeep and not electric. Heck, it’s not even designed in Milan. According to the Chinese media sites (via Google translate) that we checked out, the T21 is actually a compact SUV dubbed the Chery Tiggo 5 (pictured above), designed in Turin, that had been axed but is now being put back on the menu. Now, perhaps there is a stone out there big enough to hide a jeep under that we left unturned but all signs seem to point this Better Place battery-swapper to be non-existent, though if you can prove otherwise, we’d be happy to hear about it.

As far as we know, plans are still in place for Chery to sell some eco-friendly cars, beginning with the electric S18 (though it may now be called the Riich M1 EV) as early as this June. And its batteries don’t swap.

AutoblogGreen

=> Is Chery designing an electric jeep for Better Place?.

Rubriigid: Elektriautod
Sildistatud: Better Place

Wheego Whip LiFe – Click above for high-res image gallery

The one vehicle unveiled at the Washington Auto Show today was the Wheego Whip LiFe, an upgraded version of the company’s neighborhood electric car that we took for a quick spin last fall. The high-speed LiFe – a clever name based on the car’s 28 kWh lithium (Li) iron (Fe) phosphate battery pack – will come to market later this year at a very affordable price of under $35,000, and that’s before any tax incentives, according to Wheego’s vice president of marketing, Les Seagraves. Wheego has a 30-dealer network in the U.S., and the Wheego LiFe will be available there sometime this summer. The car has a top speed of 65 mph and a range of 100 miles. You can see the Whip’s full spec sheet here.

Wheego is currently undergoing crash testing the lithium model, a project that required fundraising in the realm of $2.5 million (the money was also used for other thing). Virtual testing has been underway since October and has led to a few changes in the battery pack shape andvehicle structure. Two Whip LiFes will be built to be sent into the crash chamber, and two others will be made for the company to show off (the first was the vehicle displayed today).Speaking of this particular body style, regular readers will remember that the Whip is a modified Shuanghuan Noble. Seagraves said that the Wheego team in Atlanta has made “over 100″ changes to the body and chassis and therefore “it’s ours now.”

AutoblogGreen

=> DC 2010: Wheego unveils high-speed Whip, looks a lot like the LSV.

Rubriigid: Elektriautod
Sildistatud: Wheego
Nissan shortcuts to win a race to market
jaanuar 25, 2010 · Lisa kommentaar

You need to make some technical compromises in the very early stage of the market in order to be the first mover. Will it pay off in a longer range?

Nissan, led by enthusiastic CEO Carlos Ghosn, has emerged as a surprise leader in the push toward electrification of the automobile. What is so remarkable about this is Nissan was not even part of the EV conversation two years ago. Now the company is poised to be the first major manufacturer to mass-produce electric vehicles.

The Nissan Leaf is slated to appear in a handful of test markets by the end of the year, putting the company neck-and-neck with General Motors and the Chevrolet Volt expected at about the same time. Nissan’s sudden change in focus was the result of Ghosn’s personal vision and his willingness to force it through his company from the top down. The impatient CEO recently told Bloomberg, “The engineers will always tell you, ‘Wait a little more,’ and if you keep playing this game, you never launch any product.”

Sheer force of will from a charismatic leader can accomplish great things when matched with a company that has a good reputation for execution. Cars, however, are complicated pieces of engineering, and an electric vehicle presents numerous fresh challenges to Nissan engineers. Intense pressure from the top may have created a sense of urgency, but it also appears to have driven the company to take some shortcuts.

First, Nissan overpromised on the realistic range by consistently quoting a number tied to the most optimistic benchmark, the LA4 cycle. Drivers who stick to stop-and-go traffic on city streets in temperate climates may indeed consistently see 100 miles of range, but most drivers will see significantly less in a mix of city and highway driving. Driving in California, the country’s top market for electric vehicles, involves a lot of time on highways where the 65 mph speed limit is rarely observed. The LA4 cycle Nissan quotes mostly stay below 30 mph with one two-minute “sprint” at 55 mph every 22-minute cycle.

It also appears Nissan has cut corners on the most critical aspect of electric vehicle technology — the battery pack. The key engineering trade-off Nissan has made is opting not to include active thermal management, where the temperature of the pack is controlled by an HVAC system similar to what cools the passenger cabin on a hot day. Instead, Nissan has opted to use only an internal fan that circulates the air within the sealed pack to evenly distribute the heat, which escapes by passive radiation through the pack’s external case.
Thermal management in lithium-ion battery packs is critical to the long-term performance and quality of the battery. The manganese oxide pack is sensitive to high temperature and the primary consequence is that the pack will degrade more rapidly than one with active thermal management. This problem will be worse in hotter climates such as Phoenix, which Nissan has selected as one of its launch cities.

Mark Perry, Nissan’s director of product planning for the United States, dismissed the importance of active thermal management.

“We don’t need thermal management for the U.S., but we are looking at the technology for Dubai and other locations like that…. We’ve gone on the record saying that the pack has a 70 to 80 percent capacity after 10 years,” he told Wired.com. Pressed on whether that is realistic for a passively cooled manganese oxide pack, Perry said yes.

“If it wasn’t our pack and it wasn’t our engineers and we weren’t working on it for 17 years … we wouldn’t make the statement if we weren’t confident in our ability to do so,” he said.

But we heard a different story from Paul Hawson, a Nissan product planner who worked on the Leaf, when the automaker brought the Leaf to the Wired offices in November. Asked why Nissan chose not to use active thermal management, Hawson explained the engineers experimented with it but found it required a central tunnel on top of the pack. That would intrude on cabin space, splitting the rear bench into two seats with a hump in the middle. Nissan, he said, decided to use only passive cooling to preserve passenger space.

Asked to confirm that, Perry insisted Hawson had misunderstood the question and said, “We don’t make sacrifices in performance. The electric vehicle is the number one priority at Nissan.”

General Motors has taken a different approach with the battery in the Chevrolet Volt. Although it uses a similar lithium manganese chemistry, GM opted to use an active liquid cooling system. Doing so ensures optimal power and lifespan, said Tony Posawatz, vehicle line director for the Volt.

“Thermal management [with lithium manganese batteries] has bookend issues to manage: minimized power at low temperatures and life reduction at high exposure to higher temperatures,” he said. “If you want to replace your battery every four to five years and someone is willing to pay for [a replacement battery], either the customer or the manufacturer, a modest or minimal HVAC system may work.”

The Volt actively manages both low-temperature and high-temperature conditions.

“Additionally, we cycle the battery in a much friendlier way than our BEV competitors which need an 85 percent state-of-charge window to get their miles and this EV range begins degrading after day one of usage,” Posawatz added, referring to the fact that the Volt only cycles through 8 kilowatt-hours of the pack’s 16-kilowatt-hour capacity, which also contributes to longer life. Even with these conservative engineering approaches, Posawatz said, “our 10-year target still yields a battery with 70 to 75 percent of the capacity at the end of life.”

Nissan’s confidence on this matter aside, early purchasers of the Leaf should consider taking the company up on its offer to lease the battery, which would leave any financial risk of early battery degradation where it belongs — with Nissan.

Wired Autopia,

via http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/01/nissan-leaf-2/

Rubriigid: Elektriautod
Sildistatud: nissan
Volvo C30 electric vehicle uses … ethanol for heat
jaanuar 24, 2010 · Lisa kommentaar

Volvo C30 DrivE electric vehicle – Click above for high-res image gallery

During a presentation on the Volvo electric C30 today at the EnerDel facility in Fishers, IN, we heard a word we really didn’t expect to hear: ethanol. We asked Lennart Stegland, Volvo’s director of special vehicles, to explain what the biofuel has to do with the all-electric commuter car, and here’s how it works: instead of using the battery to heat the batteries or the cabin, a small liquid-fuel heater is built into the car. See, it gets cold in Scandanavia, and using ethanol makes sure the driver does not have to accept any compromises to go electric, Stegland said, adding:

At zero degrees Centidrade or slightly colder, you lose about 35-40 percent of the range if you use electricty [to heat the battery and or the cabin]. What we decided is we can have the opportunity to have this fuel-operated heater, which has a capacity of about six kilowatts, so that will reduce the temperature [where the range loss starts] by about 20 degrees Centigrade. Then we use the battery only for mobility. All the heat is taken from the ethanol.

The system is a gasoline heater that was adapted to burn E85. The ethanol fuel tank is filled using the same fuel door as is used on a standard C30 to gas up and holds around 14 liters of fuel, enough to get you through about two weeks’ worth of very cold weather if you keep the car plugged in whenever possible.

If the C30 makes it to the U.S. (a possibility sometime after 2013), the liquid fuel for the heater might be standard gasoline, Stegland said, since the system will be adapted market by market. As far as we know, Volvo is the only company using this method. At first glance, it seems really, really strange. On second thought, though, it kind of makes sense. The third thought? Well, that one is yours.

AutoblogGreen

=> Volvo C30 electric vehicle uses … ethanol for heat.

Rubriigid: Elektriautod
Sildistatud: Volvo
2010 Detroit Auto Show: BMW ActiveE Electric Car
jaanuar 22, 2010 · Lisa kommentaar

Most of you probably know about the MINI-E, an electric version of the MINI made by BMW to do real-world EV testing (and exploit a CARB loophole, some say). BMW says that it will repeat the experiment, but this time with the ActiveE, a converted BMW series 1 coupe.


“The BMW Concept ActiveE has allowed BMW to explore new vehicle packaging solutions and components which will be crucial to the success of the Megacity Vehicle. The intelligent integration of drive components within the existing vehicle package of the BMW 1 Series Coupe offers the opportunity to provide four full-size seats and a luggage compartment with a capacity of 200 litres / 7 cu ft. The motor, specially developed for the model and located in the rear axle, delivers 125 kW/170 hp and provides maximum torque of 250 Nm / 184 lb-ft. It accelerates the vehicle in less than 9 seconds from zero to 100 km/h (0-60 mph in approx. 8.5 seconds).”

Sounds like a more practical car than the MINI-E for every day driving.

One of the downside of being an EV is that the ActiveE weights about 3,900 pounds, but weight distribution is close to 50/50, so handling should still be decent. I suspect that this high weight is partly due to the fact that this is a conversion job and not a car that was designed from the ground up to be an EV (for example, the Nissan LEAF is estimated to weight about 2,800 lbs).

bmw activeE electric car concept photo
Photo: Michael Graham Richard

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/01/2010-detroit-auto-show-bmw-activee-electric-car-lease.php

Rubriigid: Elektriautod
Sildistatud: BMW
Putin backs Russia’s first electric car project
jaanuar 21, 2010 · Lisa kommentaar

MOSCOW, Jan 19 (Reuters) – Russia’s richest man, Mikhail Prokhorov won early backing from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for his plan to start mass production of electric cars, Putin’s spokesman said on Tuesday.

Russia is seeking to modernize its commodity-based economy, which was hit hard by the global crisis when energy prices fell, and wants to achieve growth in technology sectors where it believes it may have some competitive advantage.

Prokhorov, a gold-to-basketball entrepreneur who sold some of his most lucrative assets just before the crisis, is sitting on a cash pile he is ready to invest. He has previously demonstrated strong interest in technology.

“Putin listened very attentively and wanted to see this project discussed in detail with all the ministries involved as soon as possible,” Peskov told reporters without elaborating on the details of the plan.

Industry professionals who had seen the early design of Prokhorov’s car told Reuters that the vehicle would be a Golf-class sedan with a body made from plastic. They said Prokhorov was ready to provide project financing for two years.

They said the target price for the car would be around 8,800 euros and it would be a pure electric vehicle as opposed to a hybrid, which runs on both a conventional engine and battery-powered electricity.

Prokhorov’s Onexim Group currently has no car production facilities. It was not immediately clear whether Prokhorov planned acquisitions or partnerships to complete the project or whether he had asked Putin for funding.

France’s Renault SA (RENA.PA), which has a stake in Russia’s largest carmaker AvtoVAZ (AVAZ.MM), and its Japanese partner Nissan Motor Co Ltd (7201.T) have been the most aggressive proponents of pure electric vehicles.

In August, the alliance unveiled a zero-emission, hatch-back vehicle called “Leaf;” it plans to start selling the first cars in the United States, Japan and Europe towards the end of 2010 at prices comparable to those of a gasoline-engine cars of the same size.

Electric car enthusiasts say that current battery technology has advanced significantly from that of earlier models, making electric cars cost-efficient. Russia’s vast defense sector has some expertise in making batteries. (Writing by Gleb Bryanski, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

REUTERS

via http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE60I22620100119

Rubriigid: Elektriautod · Poliitika
Sildistatud: Venemaa
Mitsubishi says it will increase i-MiEV production this year, hopes to bring price down to $22,000
jaanuar 18, 2010 · Lisa kommentaar

Mitsubishi i-MiEV – click above for high-res image gallery

Is there a demand for small electric cars? Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has discovered that, yes, there is. In fact, the trend that the company seems to have discovered is that whatever production numbers they’ve set need to be increased.

AutoblogGreen

via Mitsubishi says it will increase i-MiEV production this year, hopes to bring price down to $22,000.

Rubriigid: Elektriautod
Sildistatud: Mitsubishi
Detroit 2010: 2012 Ford Focus Electric could be both sedan and hatch
jaanuar 17, 2010 · Lisa kommentaar

2011 Ford Focus – Click above for high-res image gallery

We have a full run-down on the all-new 2011 Ford Focus elsewhere today, but there is one aspect of the car that Ford officials declined to discuss in very much detail at our preview just before Christmas, the upcoming EV. One thing we did learn for certain from spokeswoman Jennifer Moore is that it will officially be badged as the Focus Electric when it comes to market in 2011.

When we first saw the development mule at the 2009 Detroit Show, Ford would only say that the production version would be based on one of its C-segment vehicles but declined to be pinned down on the body style. When we spoke with line director Gunnar Hermann about the sedan and hatch, he told us that both styles are based on the same floor pan which has been engineered to accommodate the lithium ion battery pack. So it’s possible that we could see the Focus Electric as both a four-door sedan and a five-door hatchback.

That should make for a very interesting comparison against the Nissan Leaf, which will appear in test fleets later in 2010, but won’t see retail availability until a year or so after the Focus Electric.

AutoblogGreen

via Detroit 2010: 2012 Ford Focus Electric could be both sedan and hatch.

Rubriigid: Elektriautod
Sildistatud: Ford
Detroit 2010: Volvo C30 EV silently motors into the Motor City
jaanuar 17, 2010 · Lisa kommentaar

Volvo C30 EV Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

As expected, Volvo brought along an all-electric C30 hatchback concept to the 2010 Detroit Auto Show. While this isn’t a production vehicle at this point, Volvo says the car is a fully drivable prototype with a complete interior, full instrumentation, and enhanced battery packaging.

We made our way down to Volvo’s area here at Cobo in Detroit to check the battery-electric C30 out for ourselves, and honestly we came away impressed. As Volvo says, the C30 EV is a complete package with little evidence that it’s not a production model. See for yourself in our high-res gallery of live images below.

AutoblogGreen

via Detroit 2010: Volvo C30 EV silently motors into the Motor City.

Rubriigid: Elektriautod
Sildistatud: Detroit 2010, Volvo
Detroit 2010: BYD’s plans to bring the all-electric E6 to the U.S. slightly detailed
jaanuar 17, 2010 · Lisa kommentaar

BYD E6 – Click above for high-res image gallery

The all-electric E6 took center stage at BYD’s press conference today at the Detroit Auto Show. This is an ambitious car from an ambitious automaker, and that internal push means that the E6 is scheduled to arrive in the U.S. later this year. Plans for Europe will be announced later and U.S. pricing for the E6 might be released in late spring.

Over in China, the E6 electric vehicle has passed all crash tests, but that’s one hurdle that will need to be jumped here in the U.S. before it arrives. Another change – the switch to a J1772 connector – will be easy to accomplish, Fred Ni, the general manager of BYD Motors America, told AutoblogGreen. BYD executives are not disclosing the cost of the E6’s battery, but they are claiming it will last for ten years. The thing weighs 800 kilograms and packs around 60 kWh, which BYD says is good enough to move the car 205 miles on a single charge.

Ni said that BYD wants to be able to respond to market demand. Therefore, if the car is an American hit, BYD could build it in the U.S. someday. If BYD does build cars here, they would probably be both battery-powered and standard ICE powertrain models, he said.

As for the long-term ambition, BYD is looking to the top. While BYD has been around as a battery maker since 1995, the automotive division was established in 2003. The company is now the fourth-largest automaker in China, but that’s not enough. BYD’s goal is to be the biggest automaker in China by 2015 and, get this, the biggest in the world by 2025. For 2010, the company hopes to sell 800,000 units. How many of them will be E6s to Yankees? We’ll find out soon enough.

AutoblogGreen

via Detroit 2010: BYD’s plans to bring the all-electric E6 to the U.S. slightly detailed.

Rubriigid: Elektriautod
Sildistatud: BYD
Hyundai Blue-Will Plug-in Hybrid Concept Presages Future Production PHEVs
jaanuar 17, 2010 · Lisa kommentaar

Hyundai brought its Blue-Will plug-in hybrid (PHEV) concept—first introduced at the 2009 Seoul Motor Show (earlier post)—to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit for its US debut.

Blue-Will serves as a test bed of new ideas that range from roof-mounted solar cells to drive-by-wire steering, lithium polymer batteries and touch-screen controls, and foreshadows future hybrid production vehicles from Hyundai. Blue-Will promises an electric-only driving distance of up to 40 miles on a single charge and a fuel economy rating of up to 106 mpg US (2.2 L/100km). Codenamed HND-4, the Blue-Will is the fourth in a series of innovative concept vehicles to come out of the Namyang Design Center.

The Blue-Will concept is powered by an all-aluminum 152 hp (113 kW) Gasoline Direct Injected (GDI) 1.6-liter engine mated to a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). A 100 kW electric motor is at the heart of Hyundai’s proprietary parallel hybrid drive architecture. The wheels are turned by power coming directly from the gasoline engine, the electric motor, or both together, as conditions demand.

Fuel economy for the Blue-Will in charge sustaining mode (regular hybrid mode) is projected to be 50-55 mpg US (4.7-4.3 L/100km). Hyundai says that vehicle range is 652 miles (1,049 km).

This parallel hybrid drive architecture serves as the foundation for future Hyundai hybrids, starting with the 2011 BlueDrive Sonata hybrid coming later this year in the US. (Earlier post.)

For maximum luggage space, the fuel tank is located under the rear seat where it is bundled alongside the lithium polymer battery (cells from LG Chem) that can be recharged using household current.

Hyundai was the first automaker in the world to apply lithium polymer batteries in a mass production vehicle this July, when the Elantra LPI Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) went on sale in Korea. This battery technology will also power Hyundai’s 2011 Sonata BlueDrive hybrid.

The panoramic glass roof integrates dye-sensitized solar cells without impeding visibility. The solar cells provide a trickle charge that helps operate a cabin cooling fan, reducing interior temperatures while the car is parked in the sun.

Energy from hot exhaust gases is recaptured by a thermoelectric generator (TEG) which is fitted into the exhaust manifold. The TEG then converts the heat into electrical energy to help power auxiliary systems. Efficiencies are further improved by low-rolling resistance tires and low-drag brakes, where special attention has been paid to the engineering of the brake pads and calipers.

Green Car Congress

via Hyundai Blue-Will Plug-in Hybrid Concept Presages Future Production PHEVs.

Rubriigid: Elektriautod
Sildistatud: Hyundai
Silwi Autoehitus plaanib e-autosid tootma hakata
september 22, 2009 · 1 kommentaar

Vabaduse väljaku alusesse parklasse elektriautode pistikupesa valmistanud firma plaanib paari aasta pärast elektriautosid tooma hakata.

Laadimiskonsooli valmistas ja paigaldas omal kulul Vabaduse väljaku all asuvasse parklasse AS Silwi autoehitus, mille tootmisjuht Tõnis Raametsa sõnul on firmal plaanis hakata Eestis elektriautot tootma.

„Selleks pidi midagi tegema, et projekti käima lükata. Võimalus oli, et pistikupesa paigaldada, see on ikkagi selleks, et propageerida rohelist mõtteviisi ja elektriauto toomise plaani edasi vedada.“

Allikas: EPL

Summary: Silwi, Estonian special vehicle manufacturer, plans NEV within two years.

Rubriigid: Eesti asjad · Elektriautod · Üldine
Nissan Leaf, tutvustav video
august 7, 2009 · Lisa kommentaar

Nissan Leaf e-auto on jõudnud mitmete kanalite uudisvoogudesse ja kel rohkem huvi leiab Google’i abil üles ka kõik olulisemad avaldatud tehnilised detailid, seega siinkohal vaid ülevaatlik tutvustusvideo.