WA Electric Vehicle Trial

Nissan Leaf on sale in June

2012-02-13T06:05:58Z

The Nissan Leaf will be on sale in Australia for $51,500 from June 2012. Nissan Australia chief executive officer Dan Thompson said, ‘With a range of up to 170kms on a single battery charge, the LEAF is expected to find favour early on in Australia’s fleets… and later with private customers who are interested in a zero tailpipe emission car ownership experience coupled with freedom from petrol service stations’. More than 20,000 Nissan Leaf’s have been sold globally to date. Read more.

MIT study shows EVs can cut costs

2012-02-08T07:41:55Z

Researchers from Center for Transportation and Logistics at MIT have conducted a new

study on a fleet of electric-powered delivery trucks.

The study shows that such vehicles are environment- friendly and also provide

economic benefits to business. New MIT research suggests that electric delivery

trucks, can help both the environment and the business bottom line.

When compared to delivery trucks with diesel engines, use of electric vehicles

can lower the operational cost of a fleet in a range of 9% to 12%.

Read more at The A to Z of Clean Technology.

Fold-up EV unveiled

2012-01-25T08:22:39Z

A tiny fold-up car designed in Spain’s Basque country as the answer to urban stress and pollution has been unveiled before it hits European cities in 2013. The “Hiriko”, the Basque word for “urban”, is an electric two-seater. Its motor is located in the wheels and it folds up like a child’s collapsible push chair for easy parking. Read more at ABC.net.au.

As EVs Take Charge, Costs Power Down

2012-01-25T08:16:48Z

Thanks to a US cost-sharing project with the Department of Energy, GM has been able to develop the capacity to build electric and hybrid motors internally. That capacity has made electric cars like the upcoming Chevy Spark electric car. The record number of electric vehicles on the floor of Detroit’s North American International Auto Show this week sends a clear message – the American auto industry is dedicated to driving innovation and delivering advanced electric cars to consumers here and around the world. Read more.

95% of trips fine for EVs

2012-01-18T07:25:16Z

At GreenCarReports, they often hear excuses from people who say they want to buy an electric car but feel unable to. Aside from increased sticker price, one of the more common excuses given is the worry that an electric car won’t meet their mileage needs due to range limitations per charge — despite historical data suggesting that electric cars could easily handle around 80 percent of all daily driving in the U.S. A new study by two doctoral students at the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University has increased that figure, estimating that electric cars could meet as much as 95 percent of all daily driving needs of U.S. citizens. Read more.

EV Design

2012-01-12T02:20:39Z

A century ago, when electric cars were popular — especially in cities and among women drivers — they looked discernibly different from gasoline-powered automobiles. In the age of the horseless carriage, the transportation historian James Flink wrote, electric cars looked even more like carriages. Those early electric cars were upright and boxy, just the look that today’s designers are trying to avoid. The electric cars on display this week at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit are adopting one of two overriding design philosophies: make it exciting, or make it familiar. Read more at nytimes.com.

Daily life with a plug-in car

2012-01-09T08:01:49Z

A report from Mark Irving of The West Australian on daily life with a plug-in car:

“I’m setting off along West Coast Highway and all I can hear is the tyre roll and the hum of the air-conditioner. Except when I put my foot down and the response is a tiny whine, like a jet aircraft from a distance … or a dentist’s drill up close. But the result is remarkable – similar to the kick you get when you floor the pedal in a turbo-diesel BMW. Read more.

Ford Focus Electric to begin production

2012-01-09T07:43:27Z

After much industry buzz, Ford has announced that it is beginning production on its Focus Electric – an a zero-emissions version of its popular model. The Focus Electric will be the automaker’s first all-electric passenger car, and the company says it expects it to be the first EV 5-seater to get a 100MPGe fuel rating (that’s a consumption equivalent of 100 miles per gallon). Ford also says the car will feature faster charging technology with a 240-volt charging station, allowing the car to charge fully in three to four hours – half the time it takes to charge up a Nissan Leaf. Read more at Smartplanet.com.

Electric Car Sales for 2011

2012-01-09T07:16:08Z

Last year, the electric-car revolution became real. After a late-Nineties false start, much gnashing of teeth, and years of promises, carmakers delivered more than 17,000 plug-in vehicles in the U.S. market during 2011. The relevant figures: Nissan sold 954 Leafs in December, for a 2011 total of 9,674, and Chevy shifted 1,529 Volts in December, bringing its yearly deliveries to 7,671. In context: both the Leaf and the Volt sold more in 2011, their first year in the market, than did the 2000 Toyota Prius–which sold 5,562–or the very first hybrid in the market, the Honda Insight, which sold 3,788. Read more at greencarreports.com.

Holden to produce EV

2011-12-12T05:24:45Z

Holden has unveiled the world’s first electric car that can travel a long distance, heralding it as a “game changer” in the automotive industry. At an event in Sydney, the car manufacturer said the Volt could travel between 60km to 80km, depending on conditions, powered purely on electricity. The car, which will take approximately four hours to recharge at the price of a cup of coffee, is expected to be rolled out in Australia late next year at a price of between $50,000 to $70,000. Holden was keen to emphasise that it was not a hybrid and will be the industry’s first electric vehicle with long-range capabilities. Read more at The West Australian.