The Peugeot BB1 concept

A complete rethink of the car by Peugeot. The BB1 concept is an electric car which carries 4 people and designed so that it is only 2.5 metres long - smaller than the Smart ForTwo and Toyota iQ. The car made its debut at the Frankfurt International Motor show.

Instead of a steering wheel, the car has handle bars and no pedals on the floor. Similar to a bike, the accelerator and brake levers are on the handles.

Check out the video:

Jaguar CX - 75

One of the major complaints about electric cars is that they are so ugly looking and slow. The G-Wiz is often the butt of so many jokes, Jeremy Clarkson in particular like to make fun of the car.

Anyway, the new breed of electric cars are changing people's perception of electric cars. They look sexy and are fast.

I blogged about the Jaguar CX - 75 concept some time back. Here are some pictures of this sexy car from Jaguar.

First Leaf electric car goes to Nashville family

According to a news report, a family in Nashville, Tennessee, US, has become the first family to receive keys to the much talked about full electric car - the Nissan Leaf. This car won the Car of the year 2011 - the World's first electric car to win this award.



Actually the report might be wrong because the first person to get the Leaf in the US is Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, the official spokesperson of Nissan Leaf.

The Leaf will be available in the UK in March next year and will cost £23990 after the £5000 Govt. discount.

Rise of the Electric Vehicles - the IDTechEx electric vehicle event in San Jose, California

The inaugural IDTechEx electric vehicle event in San Jose, California was a great success and it will now be repeated annually in three continents. The range of different electric vehicles on display was fascinating such as a Hawkes Ocean Technologies submarine, a 200 mph silent Formula One Racing car from Kleenspeed, etc.

BMW, Nissan and Fiat provided fascinating views and announcements as well. Detailed market statistics for all types of electric vehicle were shared at the event.

Professor Pietro Perlo of Fiat Central Research insisted that, for maximum benefits, vehicles must be "born electric". He is developing small pure electric cars because they have the clearest business case, being lower cost, not just non-polluting at point of use. However, he is cautious about the first generation in-wheel motors. Others are using them confidently.

On-road vehicle makers shun third generation traction batteries such as lithium sulfur, fearing for safety, but they are already used in electric aircraft and military off road vehicles. 1kWh/kg is achieved with lithium air and lithium water, where carbonate based electrolytes have proved a dead end. Presenter PolyPlus Battery Company claimed to have cracked this problem, having moved on from lithium sulfur focus. Indeed, with its compliant seal, its batteries are pressure tolerant for EVs at great depths under the ocean and rival the energy density of gasoline. 1 kWh/liter and 600 wh/kg are being targeted under a recent ARPA-E grant. This work and that of Sion Energy on lithium sulfur target 300 miles affordable range for pure electric land and air vehicles. Toyota and IBM recognise that here is the future. Meanwhile, 1.3 kWh/kg and 700 Wh/liter has been achieved with a damage tolerant lithium water battery for marine use that has no self-discharge. A pilot line is planned next.

Future of Electric Vehicles Europe will take place in June 2011 in Munich, Germany. Visit www.idtechex.com/evEurope for more info

A little green van called ELVIN

Electric cars do not have an internal combustion engine - which is great for the environment. However, this means that they are amazingly silent. This brings up some unique safety issues. People can't hear the cars coming up behind them.

To find a solution to this problem, a research project in the University of Warwick is using a green van called ELVIN (Electric Vehicle with Interactive Noise) which emits different sounds to see how people perceive the sounds.

Jaguar's C-X75 concept

Jaguar’s has just unveiled their new concept car, the C-X75, at the Paris Motor Show. It's a car that seeks to embrace the influences of classic cars like the 1950s C-Type and D-Type racers and unique 1966 XJ13 Le Mans prototype and project them onto the future.

The C-X75 is a two-seater electric supercar. According to Jaguar, it has a potential top speed of 205mph (330kph) and able to go from 0 to 62mph (0-100kph) in just 3.4 seconds.

The car has four 145kW (195bhp) traction electric engines, with one engine powering each wheel.

The C-X75 will also be at the LA Motor Show from 19th to 28th November.

BTW, Jaguar recently celebrated their 75th Anniversary and I was there at the Coventry Motor Museum admiring the  lovely classic cars. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera and all I have are some pics I posted on Twitter via my mobile.

Electric cars tested in the UK

The CABLED (Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Vehicle Demonstrators) consortium is currently testing a total of 340 electric cars across the UK. This includes the  Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Jaguar Land Rover's _e electric/diesel hybrid, LTI’s TX4E taxis, Mercedes Benz/Smart FourTwo electric drive, Tata Indica Vista EV and the hydrogen-powered Microcab.

The Microcab

The test  seeks to find out how how practical these electric cars under real life conditions would be - this include how they are used and charging information. Recharging points will be provided by Birmingham and Coventry City Councils and Eon. Birmingham University’s hydrogen refuelling station will also be available.

Researchers from Aston University will be analysing the data generated.

Interestingly out of the total cars that will be tested for a year, 110 will be based in Birmingham and Coventry. 25 Mitsubishi i-MiEV cars were passed to test drivers in the West Midlands with the rest will be given to lucky drivers, specially selected by Coventry University researchers. Hope I am one of them.

The funny G-wiz

When I saw the G-Wiz for the very first time, it brought a smile to my lips. This is apparently quite different from my friend's reactions when they first laid eyes on this unusually shaped car.  UGLY was the term they used to describe it.

The first time I saw this car was in London and the reason I found the car amusing was not the shape which does look funny but because there were two of these cars parked in a single parking space. I only learnt later that these cars are pure electric cars and built by an Indian company based in Bangalore called the Reva Electric Car Company. It is sold under the G-Wiz brand name in the UK by GoinGreen and costs about £7500 which makes it one of the cheapest green cars.

Their latest model, the G-Wiz L-ion is the world's first commercially produced lithium-ion powered electric vehicle.

The car is meant for urban driving and seats two adults and two kids. It is said to have a range of around 80 Kms per charge using lead acid batteries or 120 Kms on lithium ion batteries.

Tata secures loan to develop electric cars

The Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC), which is based in the University of Warwick Campus has secured a £10 million loan from British Government to produce a four seater electric car. Tata Motors will pump in a further £25 million.

The car which is based on the Tata Indica Vista is expected to go into production by the end of this year.


The Tata Indica Vista

TMETC was set up in the UK in 2005 as a 100% subsidiary of Tata Motors. The centre is engaged in design engineering and the development of products for the automotive industry.

Nissan Leaf unveiled

Nissan unveiled their much awaited electric car called the Leaf yesterday. In their words, it is the "World's THE WORLD'S first electric car designed for affordability and real-world requirements".

The hatchback will be launched in late 2010. It comfortably seats five adults and has a range of more than 160km (100 miles).


In case you are wondering about the name,

The "LEAF" name is a significant statement about the car itself. Just as leaves purify the air in nature, so Nissan LEAF purifies mobility by taking emissions out of the driving experience.

The car is powered by laminated compact lithium-ion batteries, which generate power output of over 90kW, while its electric motor delivers 80kW/280Nm.

or more information about the car, check out their press release.

However, they failed to actually say how much the car will actually cost.

Can Tesla survive?

Tesla motors, the US based makers of electric cars, recently received $465 million as part of the Department of Energy's $25 billion advanced technology loan fund. This fund seeks to create green jobs and reduce the US dependency on foreign fuel.

However, I am not quite sure whether Tesla can survive the current crisis that has hit the US automakers quite hard. One reason is that they only have two models in the stable, viz., the Model S and the Roadster. Unlike the Toyota Prius or the Honda Hybrid cars, Tesla's models are pure electric cars.

They are also targeted at a niche market - people who like sporty cars. So they are going up against some big names like Porsche, Ferrari, Lotus, etc.

Having said that, maybe being small and nimble may actually serve the company well. Plus, a number of people who can afford the fast, flashy cars are turning their backs on the gas guzzlers as being seen as "Green" becomes fashionable. They have already "delivered slightly more than 500 Roadsters". The Model S sedan is also due to come out in 2011.

Model S

This interesting BusinessWeek article asks "Can Tesla Become a Real Automaker?"

Citroen C1 Ev'ie - UK's first 4-seater electric car

UK's first 4 seater family car was launched last weekend. The Citroen C1 Ev'ie was developed and built by the Electric Car Corporation.

It is available in 3 or 5 doors versions. According to their site, the car has a top speed of 60 mph with a range of 60- 75 miles on a full charge. Charging from domestic 13 amp socket overnight takes 6 hours.

The cars cost £16,850.

GM and Segway's Project PUMA

Recently unveiled at the 2009 New York auto show, PUMA stands for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility and is the result of the collaboration between GM and Segway.

The PUMA has a maximum speed of 35 mph and can go up to 35 miles on a full charge.

Electric cars in La Rochelle

This is my second "Auto Story in Pictures Wednesday" post.

Saw a few cars near the Les Minimes post on our vacation in La Rochelle. They were hooked up to some sort of recharging post. I don't understand French but I immediately realised that they were electric cars. Later on found out that they are part of La Rochelle's active environmental pollution reduction policy. The electric cars are for hire and pay by usage time and mileage totalled during the month.







The pictures here are of the Citroën AX. You can recharge them for free.

Malaysians may recognise the shape. The Proton Tiara produced in the country from from 1996 to 2000 was based on the Citroën AX.

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McCain to issue Clean Car Challenge

Republican John McCain want's to be seen as environmentally friendly. He said that he would issue a Clean Car Challenge to U.S. automakers. If he was elected, he would propose "A $300 million prize for the development of a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars."

Read the Reuters report "McCain calls for $300 million prize for car battery".

Th!nk cars in the UK soon

With the petrol prices way up, it's becoming quite a burden to drive the car. I really do wish I had a hybrid or electric car> Anyway, was just reading about the Th!nk cars from the Norwegian company Think. They recently launched the TH!NK city and concept TH!NK Ox at the 78th annual international Motor Show in Geneva.



The TH!NK city is totally emission free and looks like a fun car. Moreover, the body is 95% recyclable. Talk about environment friendly.





On a full charge it can go up to 200 kilometres (124 miles) in city driving, with a top speed of 100km/h.



However, I have to say, the 'Ox' definitely looks way better than the 'City'.

UPDATE:

According to various reports the Th!nk cars will go on sale during the last quarter of this year at a retail price of around £14,000.


Read more on Autobloggreen.com and on the Channel 4 websites.