Category: Battery Electric Car

Posted on

Volkswagen launch e-Golf in Germany with 190 km range

The Golf is the most successful European car of all time. In launching the new e-Golf, Volkswagen is now bringing the bestseller onto the market as a full production electric vehicle as well. The especially agile and efficient compact car supplements the highly economic fleet of 3 Euro vehicles and boasts an extensive range of standard features. The e-Golf can be immediately recognised by its signature LED headlights and is available from €34,900.

In launching the e-Golf, Volkswagen is bringing its second electric vehicle onto the market inside six months. The agile and efficient e-Golf impresses with best-in-class qualities from the off, leading the way with low power consumption of 12.7 kWh/100 km. In addition to the environmental aspect, the practically silent and thus gliding e-Golf is also very inexpensive to run, as power costs are just €3.28 per 100 kilometres. Thanks to a particularly innovative overall technological system, improved aerodynamics (cw=0,281) and perfected rolling resistance, the new, all-electric Volkswagen is over 15 per cent more energy-efficient than the best steel-built direct competitor. Joining the e-up! and eco-up!, the e-Golf thus extends the Volkswagen brand's fleet of highly efficient 3 Euro vehicles.

The e-Golf is 'Das e-Auto' - it has the same handling, comfortable ride and generous amount of space that has seen the Golf so appreciated for decades by over 30 million car buyers. The e-Golf is in addition fitted with a very good range of standard features, including four doors, the high-end 'Discover Pro' radio/navigation system, heated windscreen, automatic climate control, parking heater and ventilation, leather steering wheel, aerodynamically optimised 'Astana' alloy wheels and, being used for the first time by Volkswagen, full LED headlights. Another especially economic and likewise standard feature are the LED daytime running lights, which by virtue of their signature C-shaped format immediately identify the e-Golf as a Volkswagen electric vehicle.

The electric engine delivers 85 kW / 115 PS and from a standing start develops maximum torque of 270 Nm. This deployment of power produces a superb driving performance: the e-Golf reaches a speed of 60 km/h within 4.2 seconds and after just 10.4 seconds the Volkswagen is up to 100 km/h. A fascinating factor here is the pull-away performance, which is extremely comfortable and totally free of any delay. Depending on the nature of the route, driving style and load, the range is between 130 and 190 kilometres. The new e-Golf is available in Germany now. Prices start from €34,900 (including the 8-year / 160,000-kilometre battery guarantee).

Posted on

Mahindra unveil Reva Halo concept EV sports car [VIDEO]

Mahindra & Mahindra unveiled its concept electric sports car 'Halo' which it expects to launch commercially in the next three years.

"There is a plan to commercialise Halo, we are working on a bigger powertrain and a final design. It will take about three years to be production ready," Mahindra & Mahindra Executive Director and President Pawan Goenka told reporters at the Indian Auto Expo.

According to the company, the Halo can touch a speed of 0-100 kmph in less than 8 seconds. It has a top speed of 160 kmph with a range of 200 km on full recharge.

"This car has been fully designed and developed in India with all indigenous technology," Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicle CEO Chetan Maini said.

The company also introduced a quick recharge variant of its existing electric car e20, equipped with smart port technology.

The car can be fully recharged in one hour, while a recharge of 15 minutes will give a range of 25 km.

Posted on

First all-electric BYD E6 taxi fleet launched in London

Chinese carmaker BYD will launch London’s first ever all-electric taxi fleet on Tuesday, pulling ahead of global rivals such as Nissan in the race to roll out zero emission cabs by 2018.

Following similar BYD E6 taxi fleets in China, Hong Kong and South America, BYD’s move into London transport comes ahead of a 2018 deadline set by Mayor Boris Johnson for all of the city’s taxis to be zero-emission, which has sparked a battle between manufacturers to develop green vehicles.

The Chinese manufacturer, 9.9 per cent owned by Mr Buffett, will initially launch a fleet of 20 electric cars operated by Thriev, a taxi company, less than two months after supplying the first-ever fully-electric buses to the capital.

“Londoners are typically early adopters to new technology . . . and we are very happy to be first and beat the deadline by a few years. This is where the electric vehicle technology will shine,” Isbrand Ho, managing director of BYD Europe told the Financial Times.

Although the E6 cannot be registered as a ‘Black Cab’ because of the turning circle requirements, Thriev is aiming at the established 50,000-strong mini cab market, which relies heavily on diesel-powered MPVs.

The BYD E6 is powered by a 40kWh battery and should offer a range of around 180 miles on a single charge, according to Isbrand Ho, managing director of BYD’s export division. The E6 was launched as a taxi in Hong Kong last March and a fleet is already operating in Shenzhen, the Netherlands and Columbia.

Posted on

Kia debuts its first electric vehicle for US market

Kia Motors Corp rolled out an electric version of its Soul compact car on Thursday that the Korean automaker plans to begin selling in some U.S. markets later this year.

The 2015 Soul EV, unveiled at the media kick-off for the 2014 Chicago Auto Show, is Kia's first all-electric, zero-emissions car in the United States and its second "green" car for the U.S. market, joining a hybrid version of the company's best-selling Optima sedan that has been available here since 2011.

The Soul EV is powered by an air-cooled lithium-ion polymer battery and an 81.4 kW, 109-horsepower, liquid-cooled electric motor, which produces a 210 lb.-ft. of torque, according to Kia.

The car can go from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 96 km per hour) in less than 12 seconds, has a top speed of 90 mph (144 km per hour) and can drive 80 to 100 miles (129 to 161 km) on a full charge, the company said. The vehicle can be recharged by plugging into any standard 120v outlet or a conventional 240v EV charger.

The Soul EV will initially be sold in a handful of states, including California, Oregon, New York, New Jersey and Maryland, Kia said. Pricing has not yet been announced.

Posted on

Tesla confirm AWD Model S & cheaper batteries [VIDEO]

Speaking to owners during a European tour, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has announced several product developments and company goals.

Musk confirmed plans to release an all-wheel-drive edition of its Model S sedan. The option may be available by the time the Model X arrives on the market, around early 2015.

The company is also working on higher-capacity battery options and new seats that will likely be ready by next year. For current owners, a seat modification will be available to improve comfort.

In the meantime, existing owners will be able to experience the Version 6.0 software update within a few weeks. The revision adds real-time traffic data, along with more control over suspension settings and ride-height adjustment, among other improvements.

Musk expects its "giga factory" to reduce battery costs by at least 30 percent, hopefully as much as 40 percent, with 30 gigawatt-hours of production capacity. Cheaper batteries are likely necessary for the company to meet its goal for a $30,000 mass-market car with a 200-mile range.

Following the completion of its transcontinental charging network in the US, Tesla is currently bringing new Superchargers on line at a rate of five per week. The chargers will eventually charge at a maximum 135 kW current.

While Musk was chatting with owners at the casual town-hall meetings, Consumer Reports was completing its latest brand-perception survey that showed the startup surging into the top five ahead of Subaru, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and other established players.

Posted on

Tesla Model S Cross Country Rally — Los Angeles to New York [VIDEO]

On January 30, 2014, Tesla Motors embarked on a promotional tour.

The plan was to drive two Model S sedans across the United States, powering them for free on the newly completed cross-continental Supercharger network.

In addition, the team would set the world record for charge time of an electric vehicle driving the across the US.

Posted on

Fully Charged – The Electric Highway – London to Edinburgh [VIDEO]

This episode follows Robert Llewellyn's one day electric car journey from London to Edinburgh in a Nissan Leaf. Using the Ecotricity fast charge network they covered the 407 miles with 8 rapid charge stops in just 13 hours.

In 2011 the BBC's Brian Milligan took 4 days to drive an electric car from London to Edinburgh. In what could only be seen as an anti-EV publicity stunt, Milligan set out to make the 484-mile journey using only publicly available charging infrastructure, making eight stops and spending about 46 hours of his total trip sleeping and waiting for the Mini E to refill its battery.

On day 3 of the BBC trip, David Peilow talked Tesla Motors into loaning him a Roadster to complete the same distance in 1 day. The Roadster stopped twice enroute and handsomely beat the BBC crew but could have potentially completed the trip in one day AND on a single charge.

As the Leaf comes with a Level 3 CHAdeMO charging socket fitted as standard, a Nissan Leaf, using the Ecotricity Fast Charge network, can cover the BBC trip in 1 day so on the third anniversary of the BBC's trip Robert Llewellyn and David Peilow set out to prove it.

In fact we posted a video of a British couple doing 500 miles (800 km) in a day in a Nissan Leaf using the Ecotricity Electric Highway backed by renewable energy.

Posted on

Audi approve Q8 e-tron SUV with 600 km range for production

An all-electric version of Audi's upcoming Q8 sports SUV has been approved for production, according to Autocar citing senior company sources.

The battery-powered version of the Q8 SUV due in 2017 will use battery and electric powertrain technology from the upcoming R8 e-tron supercar, with Audi engineers targeting a practical range of 370 miles (592 km).

The R8 e-tron project was recently reprised, with the updated car getting 400km (248.5 miles) range.

The new Q8 model is aimed directly at the upcoming Tesla Model X SUV, which is due to be launched later this year. Like the Tesla, the Q8 e-tron will will be AWD with electric motors driving the front and rear wheels.

The Q8 e-tron is expected to have a large battery pack, at least equal to the 80kWh pack that will be available in the Tesla. Battery technology is expected to make significant advances by the time the Q8 arrives, which will improve its potential range.

Source: Autocar

Posted on

“Big Daddy” Don Garlits Quest to drive the first Battery powered Dragster to 200 mph

Drag racing legend “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, on the 50th anniversary of Garlits’ historic first official 200 mph pass in 1964, will attempt to drive the first battery-electric dragster to exceed 200 mph on a ¼ mile drag strip.

The Quest Dragster will be powered by a 1500 kilowatt array of lithium polymer (LiPo) batteries producing an equivalent horsepower rating of over 2000 HP powering a General Electric DC motor via 3x Zilla controllers.

These specs are very similar to those used by the first electric vehicle to break 200 mph in the quarter mile! The Rocket bike made history May 4, 2012 with a record run of 6.940 at 201.37 mph.

The bike was built by Lawless Industries and Orange County Choppers with Lawless also supplying the electric powertrain for the Quest SR-37 Dragster. Where the bike used A123 high-performance Nanophosphate lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries the dragster will use a lithium polymer (LiPo) battery pack supplied by HighTech Systems LLC.

The title of World's fastest Electric Car in the quarter mile is currently held by Dennis Berube's Current Eliminator V dragster with an elapsed time of 7.956 @ 159.85 MPH. This record has stood since December 30th 2007. Power came from Altairnano lithium-titanate batteries via an early version of the same GE 13 inch DC Motor used by the Lawless Rocket and now the Quest SR-37 Dragster.