Electric cars are charging into the marketplace

Stalled for nearly a century, electric cars are about to move into the fast lane when the first of a new generation of vehicles reaches dealer showrooms next month.

Every major automaker plans some sort of electric or plug-in hybrid offering over the next several years, a wave of competing technologies reminiscent of the beginning of the automobile age.

General Motors Co. this month will start shipping its Chevrolet Volt, which uses a gas engine to generate electricity when the batteries run out. It will be available for sale in December. By year's end, Nissan Motor Co. will launch its Leaf, which is powered only by batteries. Ford will come out with an all-electric version of its Focus compact car next year.

Many of the new generation electric vehicles will be on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show, which opens to the public Friday at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Other alternative-fuel vehicles, such as Honda's hydrogen-powered FCX Clarity, also will be showcased.

"Electric vehicles are finally real and not an R&D project," said Mark Sogomian, a partner at Ernst & Young.

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Nissan to take orders for its Leaf electric car starting today

The automaker has been accepting reservations for a refundable fee of $99, and already has 18,000 pre-orders, according to John Schilling, Nissan spokesman – with a goal of reaching 20,000 by December. More than half of the reservations are from people in the five states where the Leaf will have its initial rollout.

The rollout will be staggered. The first vehicles will go to drivers in Arizona, Tennessee, California, Washington and Oregon, then in January to Texas and Hawaii. The car maker expects the Leaf to be available everywhere in the U.S. by the end of 2011.

Officially, Nissan declined to comment on the date orders will start, saying only that it “will happen soon,” but it’s being reported that a Washington dealership has posted on Mynissanleaf.com that tomorrow’s the big day.

Dealers are reportedly being instructed on how to convert those reservations into orders, with buyers able to choose options for their vehicles, one of which is a $700 fast-charge option that can recharge your car to 80% capacity in just 30 minutes.

The car is certainly in high demand: car rental heavyweight Hertz plans to offer the Leaf in the U.S. and Europe. The Leaf also has cool features like iPhone integration that will allow owners to check the car’s charging status remotely and adjust the temperature of the car before they hop in.

And with the Chevrolet Volt and Coda sedan set to be released by the end of the year, this may well be The Year of Electric Cars. The Leaf being the first of its kind has already taken some dings from other electric-vehicle makers, notably Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, who called Nissan’s battery technology comparatively “primitive.” And it’s not clear where the payoff is for consumers: Mitsubishi, which is releasing its own electric car at the end of 2011 – the miEV, told the BBC that electric cars could be more expensive to own than regular gas-based cars due to rapid depreciation and the high cost of replacing the battery once it dies.

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Ford, PGE team up on electric vehicles

Ford Motor Co. and Portland General Electric Co. are teaming up to share information about vehicle charging needs, as both companies prepare for higher numbers of electric cars in the coming years.

Ford said Tuesday it plans to bring five new electric vehicles to market over the next two years, including an electric version of the Transit Connect commercial van.

"To support the roll out and acceptance of these vehicles it is important to work with local utilities to make sure the necessary infrastructure and grid capability are ready," said Mike Tinskey, Ford manager of vehicle electrification and infrastructure, in a statement.

Ford and Portland General will share information about charging needs, with the goal of making sure the electrical grid can support the higher demand resulting from more electric cars on the road.

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Spain fails to take on electric charge

Spanish motorists have bought just 15 electric cars this year, but Irish electric car firms say they are not worried, writes PADDY COMYN 

PROMOTERS OF electric cars in Ireland say they don’t believe they’ll face a tough sell to Irish consumers, despite news that there has been a very poor reaction to electric cars in Spain.

Just 15 plug-in electric cars have been sold this year in Spain, a long way short of the target of 2,000 set by the industry ministry for the year. In April, Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero announced that his government would invest €590 million promoting and developing electric cars over the next two years.

It was hoped that 20,000 electric and hybrid vehicles would be sold by 2011 – including the 2,000 all-electric cars – with a long-term objective of having 250,000 electric and hybrid vehicles in circulation by 2014.

A subsidy scheme of €80 million is already in place to encourage sales, with the government funding 20 per cent of purchases, up to €6,000 per electric car.

In May 2009 it had been announced that 550 of the Norwegian-built Think electric vehicles were to be delivered to Spain in early 2010 as part of a memorandum of understanding it had signed with its Spanish partner Going Green.

Over a year later, just 15 have been sold, delivered for a car-sharing program in Atuan, Spain. The government-backed REVE electric car and wind power project said on its website that it expects the situation to improve quickly: “The figures are similar to what happened in the beginning with personal computers or mobile phones. The first models are expensive and with few options and initial sales were low.”

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Electric cars roll into WC

WEBSTER?CITY?- Two large auto transporters arrived in Webster City Friday night, carrying the first shipment of Electric Motor Car Co. bodies, or gliders.

AMS Inc., a division of Eagle Manufacturing of Webster City, will soon begin the finishing assembly of the electric autos, according to AMS?owner Joe Fleming.

"These are going to be European auto bodies with American guts," Fleming said of the autos. "What makes it even better is the fact that these are going to be assembled by Iowa workers."

The "gliders" -?the car chassis that have no engine or transmission - were rolled, coasted and then towed into a space at the Kenco warehouse on Des Moines Street. Workers at the Webster City plant will be responsible for placing the electric power train in the gliders. Many local residents stopped to watch Friday night as the cars came off of the transporters.

Fleming said he was excited about the new venture. Eagle Manufacturing has been a subcontractor for Electrolux. With the announcement of the closing of the appliance manufacturing plant, Fleming said he had been searching for new business opportunities.

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Electric cars: Gaston charging up for change

It won’t be getting any speeding tickets, but Gaston County is on the road to gasoline-free transportation.

All over the country this summer, media stories have been anticipating the release of two electric vehicles, the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt. Even in cities where the new EVs won’t be available until next year, such as Charlotte, plans to install public charging stations have been accelerating.

In Gaston County, there will be at least one EV available for test drives by 2011 and – maybe – one public charging station by 2012.

Customers are asking about the Leaf on a regular basis at Gastonia Nissan, said senior salesman Greg Oates.

Oates, who has been learning more about the plug-in model at Leaf-specific training sessions, estimates that the first test drive will take place in February. Preparations to install a charging station at the dealership will begin next month.

Though a few people in the Gaston County area have showed interest in buying the vehicle through non-committal “hand-raise” reservations, hesitance to invest in new technology right away is natural, said Oates.

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Electric cars: Considering a Volt or Leaf? Lease it.

By taking the wheel of a gleaming black Chevy Volt and driving all of 10 feet Friday, President Obama may not have convinced anyone to buy into the auto industry's new experiment.

But he did drive home one point: Mass-produced electric cars are coming. Soon.
This fall, the Volt and Nissan's Leaf will face off with dueling plug-in technologies. Next year, Ford, Toyota, and just about every other major manufacturer are likely to unveil their own electric cars. Is it time to consider buying one?
The new generation of plug-in cars come with all sorts of unknowns. How good is the technology? Will the batteries last? Will people want an expensive electric car (the Volt) that can replace their current vehicle? Or a cheaper specialized version (the Leaf) with a more limited range?
Perhaps the biggest risk of all is that gasoline prices would fall, making electric motors more expensive to run than conventional combustion engines.

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Hamilton: Electric cars coming, but can California take charge?

There are two things I couldn’t help but notice last week during a brief trip to Los Angeles. One was the earthquake that shook my hotel room and scared the bejesus out of me. The second was the number of hybrid-electric vehicles on the road.

Californians like their hybrid-electric cars, and it’s widely expected they will become the earliest adopters of a new generation of plug-in electric vehicles such as the Chevy Volt, the Nissan Leaf and the Prius Plug-In Hybrid.

For companies developing the charging infrastructure and electric cars themselves, this makes California an attractive place to sink roots. And sinking roots they are, something Michigan and Ontario should be watching closely.

Credit, of course, goes to electric car maverick Tesla Motors, which raised $226 million (U.S.) late last month in an initial public offering. Some say Tesla, which is based in Palo Alto, Calif., is the catalyst for turning Silicon Valley into the new Detroit.

Elon Musk, co-founder and chief executive of Tesla, says his company has vision, is nimble and is willing to bet big. “We’re a Silicon Valley company, closer to an Apple or a Google than to a GM or Ford in the way we operate,” Musk said last month during an investor road show. “I don’t think that’s something that GM or Ford is going to be able to replicate – ever.”

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Electric cars push is on in China

China’s new rebates forelectricvehicles in five large cities put the world on notice that the economic Goliath wants to clean its filthy air and curb its appetite for imported oil.

Chinese consumers receive $8,800 off an all-electric car, or $7,320 off a plug-in hybrid. Chinese consumers have shunned first-generation gas-electric hybrids because they cost nearly twice as much as gas-engine equivalents.
But it will take more than subsidies to catapult China to a leadership role in electric vehicle technology.
Americans buying the electric-poweredChevrolet Volt or Nissan Leaf will receive $7,500 tax credits. Buyers of conventional gas-electrics qualify for smaller credits.

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Federal grants fund thousands more electric vehicle charging stations

With six months before the release of major new electric car models from the likes of Nissan, Chevrolet and Ford, thousands of new public and home-based recharging systems are being installed.

The new infrastructure is initially focused on certain urban areas seen as key markets for new electric vehicles.

ECOtality, which began developing its plan for 12,000 new charging stations under its EV Project in October, said this week it is extending the program to Los Angeles and Washington DC thanks to an extended federal grant.

It will also extend its offer of free charging systems to include new owners of the Chevrolet Volt, and 1,000 more Nissan LEAF customers.

Another recharging company, Coulomb Technologies, which started installing 4,600 charging stations under its $37 million ChargePoint America program this month (see this BrighterEnergy.org story), will now also be providing 1,800 home charging points to Chevy Volt customers.

Chevrolet – one of General Motors’ brands – is the only motor manufacturer to be funding recharging infrastructure under both the EV Project and ChargePoint America schemes.

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Time to Plug In Electric Cars

It's fair to say that President Barack Obama's speech to the nation on the oil spill this week didn't exactly get rave reviews. It was variously described as flat and vague—and that was by his friends.

And maybe there was just nothing he could say at this moment of helplessness in the face of the gushing oil that could have made it otherwise.

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Bellevue gets ready for electric cars

Electric cars are coming, and Bellevue aims to be ready.

Earlier this week, the Bellevue City Council discussed ways the city can be prepared when the first wave of highway-ready plug-in vehicles hits the state late this year.

The greater Seattle area is one of seven regions that's been chosen to participate in the rollout of the Nissan Leaf, a fully electric car that will arrive in December. About 1,500 Washington residents have pre-ordered the car, expected to run about $25,000 after substantial federal discounts. A prototype of the Nissan Leaf was on display in Bellevue last year.

As part of the rollout, a federally-funded project called The EV Project will deliver nearly 15,000 residential and commercial chargers to 13 cities in five states and the District of Columbia.

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Electric cars have unique safety issues

The imminent arrival of the state’s first electric-car dealership in Hudson has produced a lot of excitement, but for firefighters, EMTs and police, it also produces questions about dealing with accident scenes.

“We have to have a heightened sense of safety, dealing with the voltages these things are carrying,” Hudson Fire Chief Shawn Murray said. “We used to just walk in there and cut battery cables. You can’t do that anymore.”

Emergency officials fear that long-established safety practices designed for accident scenes may not be appropriate when dealing with vehicles powered by banks of high-voltage batteries instead of gasoline, where the concern is electrocution more than explosion.

For example:

If an electric car is burning, should water be applied, or fire-suppressing foam, or some other type of foam?

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Car review: electric cars

If you have ever driven a remote-control toy car, you will have experienced – in miniature – the pros and cons of driving a full-scale, grown-up electric vehicle (EV). You'll have appreciated the instant, clean power harnessed to the exhilarating performance of the high-revving, very quiet and surprisingly powerful engine. You'll also have developed a loathing for batteries. Too many, too big, too expenisve, too weak…

The battery problem has been such a sticking point that many manufacturers have put all their eggs in the petrol-hybrid basket as an eco solution to the future of motoring. Hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight, have both an electric and a back-up petrol engine.

A few makers, however, have been plugging away at a purely electric solution, and the fruit of their labour is appearing on our roads. The breakthrough came a few years ago with the introduction of the lithium-ion battery. These already power your mobile phone and laptop. They are powerful, relatively light, have a high energy-to-weight ratio, recharge quickly and hold their charge when not in use.

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The Search for Cheaper, Lighter Car Batteries

The Nissan Leaf, an electric car that will go on sale this fall, is priced at $33,000. It's a $16,500 subcompact car that costs double that thanks to a battery estimated to cost $16,500. The eStar, an electric truck being developed by Navistar, will sell for $150,000 because it will tote a battery that costs at least $75,000. Cost isn't the only problem. Both the Leaf and the eStar will be limited to 100 miles of driving on a charge.


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Ford CEO Explains Why Most Americans Won’t Be Driving Electric Cars Soon

Automakers and environmentalists alike have pinned a lot of hope on the electric car. It is the wave of the future, they tell us, and it is the only way we will ever been weened off of oil. But when can we the average Americans, expect to get behind the wheel of one of these silent, emissions-free vehicles?

According to Ford’s CEO Alan Mullaly in an exchange with Mahalo’s CEO Jason Calacanis at the All Things Digital conference, not anytime soon.

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Electric Cars in India: Why So Few? ( Published: October 08, 2009 in India Knowledge@Wharton )

With the rise of environmentalism and the high cost of gasoline, it would seem that the electric car would take off. Not so fast, says Bangalore-based writer Shoba Narayan in this opinion piece. Although companies like the Reva Electric Car Company are advancing the cause and major auto makers are likely to follow suit, Indian consumers need to be convinced they will achieve substantial savings and that there is enough infrastructure in place to support electric vehicles before they will be willing to open their wallets.
India has millions of people to house, power grids to expand and factories to fuel. They all involve hydrocarbons. How, then, is a developing economy to grow sustainably? One answer may lie in a small electric car being manufactured right here in Bangalore.
The Reva Electric Car Company (RECC) just announced a plan to build its second manufacturing unit, which some say will be the largest such facility in the world. Naturally, the new factory will meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) ratings standards, with rainwater harvesting, solar power and natural ventilation. With a capacity for 30,000 cars, the facility will be operational in two years, according to the company. RECC also plans to develop a larger sedan that will comfortably seat four, compared to its zippy but tiny current model. More importantly, the new Reva L-ion will have a range of 120 kilometers compared to the current model's 80 kilometers per charge. While the current car battery takes a few hours to charge, the new model will achieve 90% of its charge in an hour using a fast-charge port option. All very good -- but why aren't customers lining up?

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