Friday, October 21, 2011, AutomotiveWorld.com
Logistics company STEF-TFE has taken delivery of an all-electric refrigerated 16t Renault Midlum, w...Any questions? Email us or call our Member Services team on +44 29 2046 8902.Our free E-Newsletter service is an excellent way of staying up to date with news and features from around the global auto industry.
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24 June, 2011 General Motors India (GMI) on Thursday showcased an electric version of its small car, ‘Beat’, as part of a global demonstration of the technology.
"We are delighted that Chevrolet selected India as an important market to test battery electric technology, while recognising the capabilities of our engineering team to help identify ways to make this technology more affordable," GMI President and MD Karl Slym told reporters.
The electric Beat is powered by a lithium-ion battery and can go at least 130 km in a single charge under normal driving conditions. General Motors will showcase the technology in other countries including Korea, China and Germany.
Wednesday, May 04, 2011, AutomotiveWorld.com
New legislation has been introduced in the US geared at further supporting electric vehicle (EV) up...*All prices are based on a 12-month membership period.Our free E-Newsletter service is an excellent way of staying up to date with news and features from around the global auto industry.
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Petrol prices are at an all time high in India. Even then, car sales are increasing and no one much cares about the home-developed electric car Reva. Recently, the Detroit Motor Show was concluded and we saw some of the most amazing and drool-worthy electric and hybrid cars. Chances are very less that, any of these cars would make it to the Indian market, but still, we thought it would be a nice deviation to look at some of the most fascinating electric and hybrid wheels displayed at the Detroit Auto Show 2011. Here are our top five pick from the show.Porsche showed off its hybrid supercar that borrows design cues from classic racers like the 908 and the 917. And the best part is the classic profiling that has been paired with cutting-edge modern hybrid technology. The car's carbon fiber-reinforced plastic monocoque shell is glorified with the starting number 22, which would remind you of the 1971 Le Mans victory of Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep.
The Porsche 918 RSR is an endurance racer at heart and has some very clever tricks to boast of and stay ahead of the competition. So each time you press the brakes, a flywheel accumulator located next to the driver's seat captures and stores energy. This energy can later be directed to the vehicle;s twin 102 hp electric motors to provide a burst of speed, allowing the vehicle to rocket ahead of other cars during critical overtaking maneuvers.
During the show, Porsche also announced its plans to introduce diesel and hybrid versions of the Panamera this year as well as a limited number of the 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid super sports car.
The new SLS AMG E-Cell Electric Sports Car features a new instrument cluster with 9-inch LCD touch screen. And there are three large buttons that let the driver easily maneuver between Park, Drive, and Reverse with just a push.
Ford has not revealed exact details of the car but the company says that the Energi can deliver a driving range of 500 miles and a better charge-sustaining fuel economy than the Chevy Volt. The hybrid model is targeted to return an excellent fuel economy that would be superior to the Ford's Fusion Hybrid, which gets 41mpg.
Toyota might approach the BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd) a government based electricity firm to design its electric vehicles to make the environment in green.
Toyota is on the verge of negotiating with the officials of BHEL. The initiative is to avail subsidy for electric vehicles. The move also comes in the wake of earlier moves by the firm on producing electric buses and electric locomotives. There will be official visits by the team from BHEL to the camps of Toyota Nagoya in Japan. Before Toyota, GM and Nissan-Renault haven been involved in the electric vehicle concept globally. Toyota is also on the scene with its Prius hybrid and M&M is cashing in on the Reva. However, major players like Maruti, GM, Hyundai, Tata Motors and others are yet to involve in the EV concept.
Toyota, on the other hand is on the scene with its Prius hybrid and M&M is running its Reva. Besides, there are other major players like Maruti, Hyundai, GM, and Tata Motors, ready to step into the EV concept. The primordial aim for Toyota has been partnering for delivering good vehicles under the electric version. The proposal may either culminate as a JV or as a sharing of technical set up. BHEL had similar offers from the Dutch based DHBC BV for availing similar facility under Inter-Ministerial Governing Council on EVs.
The Indian auto market is slowly inching toward alternative fuel in the wake of the sky rocketing fuel prices. In a bid to promote such moves, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy will offer incentive of 20% subsidy for electric cars and two wheelers on factory price. Additionally the scheme is valid till 2011-12. The fund allocated is Rs95 crore. There is however a pre condition that there ought to be a minimum of 30% localized components.
Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles Pvt Ltd, part of auto major Mahindra and Mahindra currently has a big job on their hands. The company is looking at the current Mahindra portfolios which can be converted into electric vehicles by the fiscal-end.
“For the moment, the focus is on M&M’s fourwheelers and not the two-wheelers,” Mahindra Reva’s chief operating officer, R Chandramouli, said: “We are exploring synergies with M&M since we can access that huge supplier base of theirs. We are discussing which platforms of the existing portfolio can be converted and a decision is expected to be taken by the end of this fiscal.” The electric carmaker is currently rolling out the Reva-i across six cities in the country, Pune being the latest. Chandramouli said the electric cars are being retailed through select M&M dealerships and Mumbai is not included in the first phase for distribution across the country.
“To enter Mumbai, we need public infrastructure for charging the car battery. In Mumbai, we believe that few people have their own parking hence they park on the road. So we need to do something different for Mumbai,” Chandramouli said.
Earlier people were reluctant to purchase electric vehicles due to shortage in local charging points however the scenario has improved.
Rakesh Sen, GM, Mahindra Reva, added: “In Delhi, we have tied up with private sector power utility, BSES , an Anil Ambani group company, to use its charging ports. These ports are charging points where e-vehicles can come and charge their batteries. BSES, through its two distribution companies, Rajdhani and Yamuna , has 60 ports, which are expected to rise to 100 soon. Sen added that for an entry into Mumbai, they will need not just government but also corporate support. “We can install charging points in the parking areas of corporates. The government can offer this as public infrastructure,” he said.
However, Chandramouli suggested the easier alternative was to charge at home since, “public charging will be more expensive. Charging at home is easier and economical. Moreover, if you charge at night, the way you do your mobile handset, it is easier from the system’s point of view.”
The much-vaunted systems used by Toyota Motor Corp. to churn out millions of vehicles are being put to one side as the automaker tries to crack new markets in the United States and India.
In the United States, speed has been at the fore in Toyota’s joint development of an electric version of its RAV4 sport-utility vehicle with start-up manufacturer Tesla Motors Inc., while it has tailored a compact car for the Indian market that has been made with even barefoot drivers in mind.On May 20, Toyota and Tesla made the surprising announcement that they were forming a corporate tie-up. But that was not the only startling development.“We made the first prototype car in only three weeks,” said Shigeki Terashi, president of Toyota Technical Center USA. Despite being on the front line of the joint development, even Terashi was unable to suppress his surprise at Tesla’s nimbleness and ability to get things done quickly.This “second-generation” RAV4 electric vehicle will hit the U.S. market in 2012.Toyota’s decision to adopt a relative newcomer’s technology for the core components of a new vehicle marked a seismic shift for an automaker that had prided itself on using its own technology in new cars since its founding. In another move that raised a few eyebrows, Toyota entrusted the joint development to the engineering staff of Toyota Technical Center USA in Michigan.While Toyota usually makes intricately detailed plans before actually starting development, Tesla tends to proceed with development first and correct any problems as they arise. Respecting schedules may be appropriate when developing many cars, but one should not be afraid to make mistakes when trying to achieve something more quickly, Tesla Chief Technical Officer J.B. Straubel said.That is the basis of Tesla’s development philosophy. More than half a year has passed since the tie-up was announced, and some changes are rubbing off on Toyota: It has started to expand the responsibilities of its U.S. engineers, just like Tesla does, on a trial basis.“We are learning from each other. ... Hopefully we can collaborate to improve our (development) process in the future (by adopting the flexibility of Tesla),” Greg Bernas, Toyota’s chief engineer for the joint vehicle development program, said.Toyota and Tesla unveiled a prototype RAV4 electric vehicle at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show in November. Further tweaks and modifications will be made until the vehicle is released in 2012.Development of the Etios required intensive research into how Indian people use cars — and how they drive them. For instance, a steel plate has been fitted under the Etios’ chassis to prevent stones from pinging up and hitting the fuel line and brake pads when it drives along bad roads in mountainous areas. Rails along which the movable seats slide have been designed so barefoot drivers and passengers will not get their feet caught.Tags : tesla toyota Add a comment
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10 December, 2010 Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles Private Ltd. is aiming to sell cars in the Indian market by next years, a top company official said. The company is expecting the Reva sales to reach 1200 units this fiscal ending march 2011, Mahindra Reva General Manager (Marketing) Pawan Sachdeva said.
Mahindra Reva’s new plant at Bangalore would go on stream by April next year and it would have a production capacity of 30,000 units per annum, he said. The present capacity of the existing plant is 1200 to 1500 units per month. The Indian company is also exporting the Reva to various other countries including UK, Norway, Spain and France. It is also working on a four seater model of cars, which would be ready by 2012.
With fuel prices increasing every day, the future lies with electric and hybrid car. The objective of the foray is to get into sustainable and environment friendly transport system, he said. The company is also expecting the Kerala government would give tax incentives for the environmental friendly car.
19 November, 2010 Tata Motors owned Jaguar has unveiled an electric concept car that can run 900kms to a charge with a top speed of 320kmph. Named as C-X75, the car has been created to celebrate 75 years of the company, says Ian Callum, design director of Jaguar Cars.
Ratan Tata seems to be upbeat about the car. He said the concept car had everything a Jaguar should be. The car will be displayed at the prestigious Los Angeles Auto Show beginning tomorrow and has created waves in the last few days after being exhibited in some parts of this city of Hollywood.
“It possesses remarkable poise and grace yet at the same time has the excitement and potency of a true supercar. This is as close to a pure art form as a concept car and get and is a worthy homage to 75 years of iconic Jaguar design,” he said.
Top Jaguar executives say that the C-X75 was only a concept car and not for commercial sale but they have been receiving a lot of inquiries from serious potential buyers. The concept car is built with lightweight aluminum panels and chassis, and has a 4WD. In addition to being powered by 145kw electric motors at all wheels, it has a pair of micro gas-turbines that provide another 140Kw of charge and extend the range to 900 km.
The super car was first put to public display at the Paris Auto show recently and now at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
