Category: Battery Electric Car

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Tesla Model S sets yet another sales record in Norway

During the last week in March, 597 Tesla Model S were registered in Norway, giving it a market share of 12.9 percent. Number two on the list was the Volkswagen Golf with 169 vehicles.

For the entire month of March there were 1493 Model S registered which is an all time high for any car model in Norway in a single month, beating a previous record 1454 Ford Sierra in May 1986.

So far this year 2056 Tesla Model S were registered, surpassing the 1983 sold all of last year.

To put this figure into perspective, the Model S has out sold Ford's entire model range (1825) so far this year.

Tesla has a market share of 5.6 percent in 2014 and 10.8 percent in March. The U.S. electric vehicle manufacturer is the nation's sixth most registered mark in 2014!

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Porsche Considering Electric Sports Car good for 400 km range

Porsche CEO Matthias Müller has confirmed the company is considering an electric vehicle.

Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport, Müller said "Yes, of course we think about it." The executive went on to say he isn't a fan of range-extended electric vehicles but he's open to pure electric models.

He believes the range needs to be at least 300 km (187 miles) to be practical with 400 km (250 miles) being the preferred option.

Source: Auto Motor und Sport

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2015 Volkswagen e-Golf electric car review [VIDEO]

Cars.com review the recently launched VW e-Golf.

The Volkswagen e-Golf, the electric version of the extremely popular VW Golf, has now hit the UK market. After the government’s £5000 Plug-In Car Grant (PICG), the price comes to £25,845. That’s still a bit higher than the Nissan Leaf, which sells for £20,990, but may not be too far off for those who prefer VW and the e-Golf.

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BMW i3 Review by Grant Thomas [VIDEO]

Grant Thomas provides a 30 minute review of the BEV version of a right hand drive, UK delivered, BMW i3.

At approx 17:28 there is a demonstration of the i3's autonomous Active Cruise Control feature which doubles as a stop & go traffic jam assist and collision avoidance brake system.

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Hyundai to launch battery-powered electric car in 2016

Hyundai plans to start selling its first battery-powered electric vehicle in 2016.

Hyundai has leant toward engines which turn hydrogen into electricity in response to stricter emissions regulations in markets such as the United States. Research and development partner Kia Motors Corp has focused on rechargeable batteries.

But the division of labor is blurring at a time when the number of battery-powered EVs is on the rise. BMW's i3 and Nissan Motor Co Ltd's Leaf are widely expected to reach Korea this year - as will Kia's Soul EV.

"There is no clear direction about which eco-friendly cars will win. We are dividing roles of Hyundai and Kia, with Hyundai launching fuel cell cars and Kia focusing on electric cars," Senior Vice President Lee Ki-sang told reporters on Tuesday.

"But the time will come when Kia will introduce a fuel-cell car. Hyundai is also preparing to launch a (battery-powered) electric car in 2016," Lee said at the Korean launch of the Soul

Battery Power

Kia, 34% owned by Hyundai, has favoured battery-powered cars because they can be charged at home as well as at charging stations. Fuel-cell cars must be refilled with hydrogen only at filling stations.

So far, a lack of charging stations and relatively short driving ranges, as well as high prices resulting from the cost of batteries, has kept the battery-powered EV market niche.

The number of battery-powered EVs on the rise, as BMW’s i3 and Nissan Motor Co Ltd’s Leaf are widely expected to reach Korea this year - as will Kia’s Soul EV.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Kia said it will start building a battery-powered version of its Soul compact in Korea next month. The car will be Hyundai-Kia’s first battery-powered EV export, with destinations including the U.S. and Europe.

For this year, the global sales target is 5,000 Soul EVs, said Cho Yong-won, vice president of Kia’s Domestic Marketing Group.

In Korea, the Soul EV will cost about half of its 42 million won ($43,650) price tag after government subsidies, similar to the higher-end model of the gasoline version.

The car can run up to 148 km per 24 to 33 minute fast charge or four hours on slow charge.

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Test Driving the BMW i3 with the Life360 app [VIDEO]

Mashable reporting from SXSW 2014 on a test drive of the all-electric BMW i3.

The soon-to-be-released EV comes pre-loaded with Life360 software, an app designed to let families find each other.

This video also includes the world's lamest attempt at a donut in an EV.

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Amsterdam Taxi Co First to run all-electric Nissan e-NV200

Taxi Electric will be the first private taxi company to enjoy the new 100 percent electric Nissan e-NV200 taxi to its green-energy-fuelled, zero-emission fleet.

The combination of Nissan's innovative zero-emission technology, in the form of the 100 percent electric Nissan LEAF and Taxi Electric's ground-breaking city transportation model have been a recipe for success since the start of operation in 2011. Now the two companies have teamed up again to build on this success and take the next step forward- introducing the game-changing all-electric Nissan e-NV200 taxi this summer.

Taxi Electric, based in Amsterdam operate a fleet of 25 Nissan LEAF vehicles and were the first private taxi service to switch to a fleet of 100% electric taxis in November 2011. The Dutch company's fleet of Nissan LEAF's have now amassed a trouble-free 1.5 million km in taxi operations- clear proof of the electric vehicle's high quality and reliability.

Andy Palmer, EVP Nissan said: "Taxi Electric was one of the first electric taxi companies in the world, and I've been impressed with their progress since their launch two years ago. They were the first to prove that zero-emission taxis - in the form of Nissan LEAFs - are a viable alternative. They have covered an astonishing distance in their fleet in such a short time and have shown just how reliable our electric technology is in a demanding environment. Their pioneering spirit closely matches ours and we are certain they will continue their success with the ground-breaking Nissan e-NV200."

Ruud Zandvliet, founder of Taxi Electric added: "Two years ago we started with 10 Nissan LEAF. Each of these travelled well over 100,000 km and proved to be extremely reliable. Since last summer demand for our taxis is growing rapidly which allowed us to double our fleet. We are very excited about the e-NV200 as it is designed to be a taxi. This will improve our offering and open new business opportunities for us."

Taxi Electric will not be alone in making the Nissan e-NV200 part of their taxi fleet, with the city of Barcelona having signed a memorandum of understanding with Nissan to promote it as a taxi for the Spanish region. Global production of the Nissan e-NV200 begins in May this year, with sales starting in the summer.

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Toyota Launch 3 wheeler i-Road on public roads in Japan [VIDEO]

Residents of Toyota City, Japan, might be wondering what they just saw on the street. If it had three wheels and was leaning around a corner, it was the "i-Road", Toyota's ultra-compact all-electric, all-fun concept.

On Sunday, the i-Road, which weighs a mere 300 kg and is less than 90 cm wide, was let loose on public roads at an event to mark its introduction into "Ha:mo", Toyota's optimized urban transport system. Soon, even more i-Roads will be zooming around Toyota city when they are made available to residents at vehicle-sharing stations. And later this year the lucky residents of Grenoble, France, will also be able to have some three-wheeled fun, thanks to a vehicle-sharing project that will last until 2017.

Besides being an absolute blast to drive, how could the i-Road actually help you out? Well, picture the following:

You just got off work. You get a phone call. You need to get across town, pronto, because your wife just went into labor. But your car is in the shop, there's no time to call a taxi, and your co-workers with cars are stuck doing overtime. Oh, and it's raining.

What do you do?

In comes the i-Road to save the day. Luckily, there's a Toyota EV-sharing station by your office. Cool as a cucumber, you use your smartphone to plan your route: i-Road to the station 5 km away, and train straight to the hospital. You book the i-Road, and within a couple minutes you're weaving smoothly through the rush-hour gridlock. You get to the train station right on time, and, since the i-Road has a closed canopy, you didn't even wet your carefully groomed hair. Day saved, all thanks to the i-Road.