The Battery Vehicle Society

In addition to the Ze-O, NiICE have on thier stand The Fiat e500 which is now the latest to get the EV makeover though this is more an excersise to monitor the public opinion than it is a full sales project, none the less what an ideal city car!

Europe’s Car of the Year combined with the most advanced electric drive system. Produced to order in Italy by Micro-Vett, Europe’s leading electric vehicle specialist. The e500 comes with the full range of FIAT options and extras and the assurance of a full FIAT warranty.

And the G-Wiz is also being targeted now with the NICE The Italian-styled two-seater. Small, stylish and very good looking. Urban cool - with all the benefits of zero-emissions . No Congestion Charge. Free road tax. Free parking in many locations. Virtually free motoring from around just £8,995.

Charge time: Five hours
Number of seats: 2-seater Coupe
Battery Type: maintenance-free AGM Lead Acid

To be unveiled at British International Motor Show on 22 July 2008. Neither a concept nor prototype; the Ze-O is coming to Europe this year

Affordable, practical, with low running costs and zero emissions; NICE Car Company today presents the first image of the all-new Ze-O. Making its global debut at the British Motor Show next week, this MPV is the first all-electric car available within a family budget.

“All-electric sports car prototypes are eye-catching and interesting,” said Julian Wilford, co-founder NICE Car Company. “However, we all know customers want practical electric cars and they want them sooner rather than later. The Ze-O is a genuinely spacious and affordable car; it’s coming to the UK this Autumn and to the rest of Europe during 2009. We expect to be very busy at the motor show.” Styled in Europe and manufactured by NICE’s partners in China, the entry level Ze-O will have a range of up to 65 miles in city driving and top speed of 55 mph. Optional, longer-range lithium-ion battery options will be available soon.
Emissions free, the car will be exempt from road tax, congestion charge and boasts running costs of a few pence per mile. That’s a fraction of the cost of a conventional petrol or diesel model.

Full details of the Ze-O and other models in the NICE Car Company family, will be revealed on the stand; N25, North Hall, London ExCeL, on 22 July 2008. The NICE Car Company press briefing takes place at 2.15 pm. But go along anytime.

Allied Vehicles, a UK vehicle adaptation specialist and supplier of minibuses and wheelchair accessible vehicles, is launching an electric taxi at the British International Motor Show in London, 23 July - 3 Aug. The new electric E7 taxi is powered by a Lithium-ion battery pack from Axeon Holdings plc.

The electric E7—based on the purpose-built Peugeot E7 taxi—has a range of up to 100 miles (161 km) from a single charge and a top speed of 60 mph.

The electric E7 also provides full wheelchair access. With a large rear-passenger area, wheelchair users can enter the vehicle more easily and be turned into the correct position for travel, before being secured safely with wheelchair restraints and passenger seat belts. Each taxi is equipped with retractable side-steps and a specially designed, under-floor wheelchair ramp to further improve accessibility for disabled passengers.

Allied signed a £17.3 million supply agreement with Axeon for a minimum of 1,000 lithium-ion battery packs to power a range of zero-emission vehicles. Allied is building on its relationship with Peugeot to provide a 3.5 tonne rated delivery vehicle based on the Peugeot Boxer, while the Peugeot Expert body shell provides options for a 3 tonne rated delivery vehicle, an 8 seat minibus, and the taxi. Allied is also developing an electric 16 seat low floor city bus.

Allied Vehicles Group was established in 1993 and in 2008 it set up Zero Emission Vehicles subsidiary to launch its range of electric taxis, vans and minibuses.

From GreenCar Congress

In June 2007, The Lightning Car Company announced its intent to develop electric technology for a luxury British sports car – the Lightning GT. Today sees the unveiling of its evolutionary design. This super car with its outstanding presence & performance is set to put British sports car innovation well and truly back on the map.

Designed to accommodate the latest battery and motor technology and reflect its 100% electric power and performance, the electric Lightning prototype is being hand-built by a small team of passionate British engineers, designers and collaborators.

Whilst the rest of the automotive world engages in the hybrid, hydrogen or electric debate, the Lightning Car Company firmly believes its 100% Electric Lightning GT will help kick start the market for performance EV’s. Without a significant positive shift in perception, electric motoring will remain a huge compromise in the eyes of driving enthusiasts and therefore fail to impress the masses. Lightening’s vision is shared by the world’s biggest car maker, General Motors, who believes the global oil supply has peaked and a switch to electric cars is inevitable…

The design team has created a successor to the petrol Lightning GT. Combining the spirit, heritage, individuality and drama of the original car with a dynamic and contemporary design language moves it into a new era and, in doing so, embraces the new technologies and innovative architecture that reside beneath its skin. Subtle creases, positive and negative sections add a sense of strength and finesse to the dramatic surfaces of the car while retaining an understated, yet distinctive British Grand Tourer aesthetic. The Lightning’s interior will also be designed to complement the unique electric driving experience.

With the build of the prototype well underway, we should see how this translates into the ‘real thing’ during the second half of 2008. The electric Lightning GT and Sports versions are now available to pre-order and deposits of £15,000 are being accepted.

A big thank you to everyone who came along yesterday and made our event such a huge success!

We had around 20 vehicles in the end, bought along by our members. These included electrically assisted pedal bikes, scooters, motorbikes, cars, minivans, a milkfloat, and a model aeroplane. The vehicles ranged from historic Enfields and a Winncity bike, through to the cutting-edge Vectrix Scooter and the Trend-E car.

The general public were really interested in the display and asking lots of questions, and the BBC turned up to take a wander round the display with me and hear all about it in a live broadcast.

Then there were the two talks: Antoni Offert and Clive Williams, our two speakers, were excellent. It was lovely looking round at a lecture theatre full of EV enthusiasts, and members of the general public, enthralled by battery technology in the morning and historical EVs in the afternoon. The talks were followed by an outdoor demonstration, from Derek Manly, on Lynch Motors. Derek pulled in the crowds as he demonstrated the motor in action, and then took it apart and talked about how it worked.

The next North-West event is scheduled for Saturday 4th October, and will probably be a road-run. Keep an eye on the website for further details.

Mary Perkins,

North-West Region.

Volkswagen are testing a “twin drive” system which they claim they aim to have on the roads by 2010. The Twin Drive is somewhat similar to the Volt in that theres an ICE motor and an electric motor so you can run on both petrol/diesel and electric. Final drive like the volt is via the electric motor.

The VW golf is of course often considered as one of the definative family cars especially given it’s hearitage and not least of all the name of the company itself The People’s Car. It’s great to see another 4 door family car going electric. We hope to see more soon!

For more information read the Daily Tech article here

A new report from Frost & Sullivan forecasts that the market for electric vehicles (EVs) in Europe will rise to more than 250,000 units per year by 2015.

Automakers have little choice but to be part of the EV, market according to the report, Strategic Assessment of European Passenger Electric Vehicles Market, if they are to address the escalating energy situation.

The report suggests that there could be sudden movement towards the battery leasing business, although consumer acceptance is still uncertain.

The rate at which the consumers accept the leasing model and the degree of benefit the end users derive from the business model will play a decisive role. In parallel technological enhancements with respect to the battery packs is equally important. With the increase in driving range, the customer base increases beyond the city limits. A battery pack of up to 100 mile range can tap suburban population and neighbourhood cities; a pack with 150 plus miles can tap rural population there by potentially touching more than 3 million likely EV buyers.

—Anjan Hemanth Kumar, Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst

Until 2012, EV companies are likely to target hot spots such as London, Stockholm, Oslo and Rome, and the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, France, Italy and Spain are likely to constitute 93% of the sales in Europe, according to the report. However, once EV manufacturers enhance the safety features and range of their products, they will widen their market’s geographical boundaries.

OEMs and related companies are expected to adopt various financial models to increase sales, but leasing is expected to be the most popular and could account for 75% of sales by 2015. During the same period, bigger OEMs are likely to eat into 76% of the market currently occupied by small OEMs.

The secretary of our society has appeared on BBC radio in order to promote the society and discuss the benefits of owning electric vehicles. In the interview she discussed the society, the website, the forum, the ev-charging network, conversions, manufactured EVs, GoodEnergy, and tomorrow’s meet in Manchester . You can hear a recording of the interview by clicking the link below.

The file is 20 Mb and 20 minutes long. Click to listen

News from Green Car Congress is that Daimler plans to have an electric Mercedes in addition to an electric smart car on the market by 2010, according to CEO Dieter Zetsche in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine.

I am sure that the combustion engine has 20, perhaps 30 more years. Our industry has had Otto and Diesel [engines] for more than a century. Now we find ourselves in a second phase of invention. With DiesOtto [earlier post] and BlueTec, we develop the best technologies and we are also working on new technologies like the electric drive. There will be an overlap.

Zetsche also said that Daimler was in talks with Shai Agassi over possible participation in Project Better Place.

Bob Lutz talks about his drive in the Volt mule