Nissan North America Inc. on Monday announced it chose Hawaii as one of its markets to launch sales of its electric vehicle, the LEAF.
Sales are scheduled to begin at the beginning of next year. The company will take refundable $99 reservations starting May 15.
"The introduction of the Nissan LEAF electric vehicle will build on Hawaii’s progress to end our state’s over-reliance on imported fossil fuels and increase our energy security," Gov. Linda Lingle said in a written statement.
The LEAF is expected to sell for $32,780. The vehicle will be eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit, Nissan said.
Nissan said that the LEAF will cost about 5 cents a mile, compared to gasoline-powered vehicles that average about 14 cents a mile.
The car is expected to recharge by using a special 220-watt converter kit for the home over a four- to eight-hour period, or about 30 minutes at a commercial facility.
At the ceremonial launching of Germany’s “National Electric Mobility Platform” (NEMP) in Berlin, Volkswagen presented the Golf blue-e-motion electric vehicle concept to German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel. NEMP is a German government initiative to develop Germany into a leading market for electric mobility, with about 1 million electric vehicles on its streets by 2020.
The Golf blue-e-motion and the technically closely-related Jetta blue-e-motion will launch on the market in 2013, after the debut of the Up blue-e-motion (a new city electric vehicle). In the same timeframe, the Lavida blue-e-motion will also launch in China. Volkswagen’s stated objective is to use bestsellers such as the Golf to take electric vehicles out of their niche model status and to become the market leader for a new type of sustainable mobility by 2018.
The Golf blue-e-motion concept is powered by an 85 kW, 270 N·m (199 lb-ft) electric motor integrated in the engine compartment in front. The electricity for driving the electric motor is stored in a 26.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. Top speed is 140 km/h (87 mph).
The Golf blue-e-motion offers a driving range of up to 150 km (93 miles); the specific range depends on driving style and factors such as use of the air conditioning and heating system.
This range meets the needs of most German commuters: According to the German Federal Statistical Office, 6 of every 10 people in the workforce commute by car. On average, 45.8% drive less than 10 kilometers (one-way commute), another 28.1% between 10 and 25 kilometers and 16.2% over 25 kilometers. The Golf blue-e-motion can also handle the driving ranges typically covered by many service providers./p>
To improve the range, the Golf blue-e-motion can “sail”. Sailing occurs whenever the driver—adopting an anticipatory style of driving—releases the gas (or electric) pedal. As in the drive system of the Touareg Hybrid, which is being produced today, the motor is then is disengaged from the drivetrain so that the car can coast with the least possible drag. The Golf blue-e-motion even recovers kinetically generated energy by battery regeneration in this mode of driving.
Adapted to the vehicle’s architecture, the concept car’s battery unit is located in the trunk space (useful remaining cargo capacity: 237 litres), under the rear bench seat and in the center tunnel (between the front seats). A separate air cooling system ensures a constant thermal environment in the battery compartment.
All key primary and secondary drive components were integrated in the engine compartment at the front of the vehicle. In coming up with this design, developers applied experience they gained in numerous design studies. As in the E-Up concept car, an integral form of electric drive is used in the Golf blue-e-motion.
Representing the core of the integral drive are the electric motor together with a transmission and differential. Energy management is handled by a high-voltage pulse-controlled inverter, which—along with the 12 Volt electrical system’s DC/DC converter and charging module—is integrated in the compact integral drive. The entire unit is relatively light and compact.
The five-door and five-seat Golf blue-e-motion, for example, weighs just 205 kilograms more than a comparable Golf BlueMotion TDI with DSG – despite the fact that electric car batteries are weigh 1,545 kilograms on the concept car.
Next year, Volkswagen will be testing the drivetrain and energy storage modules of the future Golf blue-e-motion with a fleet of 500 test cars.
In parallel with its electric vehicle offensive, Volkswagen is accelerating the introduction of new hybrid models as well. The new Touareg Hybrid is already on the market; in 2012 a hybrid version of the Jetta will debut, then in 2013 the Golf Hybrid and Passat Hybrid will launch.
Volkswagen will continue its development work on advanced and extremely efficient gasoline, diesel and natural gas engines (TDI, TSI, EcoFuel), because it is “an indisputable fact”, the company says, that a wide variety of drive technologies will coexist far into the future.
Volkswagen has announced that it will launch its first production electric vehicles in 2013. Electric cars that are driven with zero emissions will revolutionise mobility over the mid-term, especially in urban areas. However, Volkswagen is not just thinking of individual mobility in the style of the future Golf blue-e-motion, but is also considering its possibilities as a vehicle in public transportation. That is why Volkswagen is now showing – in the context of the foundation event for a “National Platform for Electric Mobility” – just how a mass-produced taxi driven by an electric motor might look. After the world premiere of the Milano Taxi of the same design, the “Berlin Taxi” concept car was created as a second city van tailored to the needs of taxi drivers and their passengers. It features many innovative details such as a forward-opening sliding door and customisable taxi touchscreens.
Design for a new automotive era
The Berlin Taxi is still a pure concept vehicle. Yet, with its styling that bears similarities to the legendary Volkswagen Samba bus, zero-emissions drive system and very tangible, practical benefits of a compact space wonder, it could very quickly become a highly coveted vehicle in cities like Berlin or Milan, New York, Beijing, Cape Town, London, Moscow or Tokyo.
The exterior: The design team decided that "One door less offers even more in a taxi," and this had a crucial influence on the vehicle’s technical and visual concept even before the first pen stroke was made. This is a good feature: The safest way for passengers to enter and exit a taxi in city traffic is on the sidewalk side. And that is why the development crew sent the Berlin Taxi on its way with just a single sliding door that opens far forward on the passenger’s side. Thanks to the development of an entirely new mechanism with two-axis kinematics, this door opens wide to offer a broad entrance. The sliding door extends well into the roof, so it also offers an enormous opening in terms of height. Apropos: The Berlin Taxi is 1.60 metres tall, 3.73 metres long – or more accurately short, and 1.66 metres wide.
Similar in style to the Volkswagen Samba Bus of the 1950s, the outer roof areas are designed to be transparent (as part of the doors in front and at the right rear). This unique design feature that is characteristic of the brand – together with a panoramic glass roof - creates a bright and friendly interior ambiance. In addition, passengers aboard the taxi will appreciate the new viewing perspective of the city’s architecture.
The concept car being presented in Berlin also opens a window to the future, since the Berlin Taxi reflects the genes of a future Volkswagen "design DNA". Consider the front end: It is no coincidence that it displays a prominent "face" - both friendly and confident - with stylistic hints of Volkswagen icons such as the Beetle and the Samba bus. These specific genes also include the front bonnet that is drawn down low as well as the "elimination" of the classic radiator grille. An entirely new element is the transparent crossbar that joins the two headlights.
A prime example of the reversal of the "form follows function" design principle is the port for recharging the batteries: The connector is located beneath the VW logo that swivels upward on the "E-motor bonnet". Meanwhile, styled in a black, transparent look, like the roof, is the 60:40 split rear door that swings open to the sides.
Intelligent screens reign in the automobile
The interior: The front passenger seat was quite intentionally left out on this taxi. In its place, there is a cargo space for luggage; the instrument panel design was modified in this area, creating additional space. Since luggage does not need to be lifted high over a sill, it is easy for passengers to stow the luggage themselves and secure it with a holding bracket at the press of a button. The actual bootspace behind the rear bench is only intended for small articles of gear; this frees up as much space for rear passengers as possible. And space there is truly abundant: Knee room behind the driver’s seat rivals that of full-size luxury saloons (120 millimetres). A passenger sitting on the right rear seat can even stretch out his or her legs fully thanks to the nonexistent front passenger seat. In the rear, the interior height is nearly unlimited too, thanks to a headroom dimension of 994 millimetres.
In the Berlin Taxi, passengers no longer need to gaze at the taximeter in the front to see the fare. That is now a thing of the past, because of an 8-inch touchscreen in the rear next to the driver’s seatback. It not only displays taxi charges; equipped with a card reader, it also offers the option of paying by credit card. During the drive, passengers can also call up information (in various languages) about "points of interest" (POIs) along the route, navigation data (overview of the entire route, remaining route and arrival time), weather data and the current date and time. In addition, passengers can adjust climate control settings for the rear from the touchscreen.
Yet, a taxi is not just the most comfortable means of transportation for passengers; it is also the driver’s workspace. That is why Volkswagen placed high priority on an optimal design in this area of the Berlin Taxi as well. One result of development work: a new Taxi Interface, on which important indicators and controls are bundled on an 8-inch touchscreen near the centre console. This screen is intuitively operated and includes these functions: taximeter, door opener for the passenger area, trip computer, navigation system (destination input by keypad, handwriting or speech control), electric drive energy flow and power status indicator, climate control (for driver and rear seating area), taxi radio and telephone, clock time and online data showing a regional events calendar and weather data. The driver can call up the menu interfaces for basic functions in just seconds by shifting the application pages up or down on the touchscreen.
In addition, taxi drivers can load their personal applications and customise the sequence of functions in the display. A clever feature: The instrument cluster in front of the driver (including speedometer, odometer and navigation instruments) is networked with the touchscreen on the centre console. Up to four functional modules may be "moved" to the instrument cluster by a simple stroke movement of the fingers, so that they can be visualised there in a smaller form.
The taxi’s ergonomics are designed for a long work day with a sport seat and an armrest integrated in the stationary seat border (separating the driver’s area from the rear and luggage areas). Located in front of this are the multifunction switch for the engine (Start/Stop) and gearbox control (D, N, R).
Zero-emissions driving
The Berlin Taxi, with its top speed of 120 km/h is driven by an electric motor with a peak power of 85 kW (continuous power: 50 kW). The motor is supplied with energy via a lithium-ion battery integrated in the concept car’s underbody. Thanks to the implemented battery storage capacity of 45 Kilowatt-hours (kWh) and the relatively low vehicle weight (1,500 kilograms), despite the battery, it is possible to cover distances of up to 300 kilometres (per NEDC) depending on driving style. The storage battery can readily be recharged to up to 80 percent of its total capacity in just over one hour; the actual time will depend on the available recharging infrastructure and battery’s momentary charge state.
28 teams, representing 36 super fuel efficient vehicles from across the globe will begin arriving at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) in Brooklyn, MI to officially start on-track performance testing for the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE, a multi-million dollar competition designed to inspire a new generation of viable, production-capable, and super fuel-efficient vehicles that exceed 100 MPGe (miles per gallon or its energy equivalent).
Established automakers, start-ups, universities, inventors, and even a high school are among the diverse groups of teams representing 14 U.S. states and nine countries. These teams are now one step closer to their share of the $10 million prize purse, to be awarded this September to those that survive the rigorous multi-stage competition.
This week’s events at MIS kickoff the first of three on-track performance testing stages—Shakedown, Knockout Qualifying, and Finals—each aimed at evaluating the efficiency, safety, and performance of competition vehicles under real world conditions. At the completion of the Finals Stage on July 30, surviving vehicles move on to Argonne National Laboratory outside of Chicago, IL for three weeks of Validation Testing before the competition winners are announced this September.
The Shakedown Stage, scheduled for April 26-May 7 is a non-scored stage, designed to provide teams a chance to “shake out” their vehicles in advance of the scored Knockout Qualifying Stage in June. Teams will still be judged on their performance, specifically in emissions and efficiency tests, but these scores will not be counted against the overall score that ultimately determines the competition winners. However, only those vehicles that are deemed safe after in-garage inspections and on-track tests will be allowed to progress to the Knockout Qualifying Stage. Though all teams will be afforded opportunities to re-test, they face elimination from the competition if they are unable to pass the prescribed safety evaluations.
While in Michigan, the competition will offer several opportunities for the public and media to see the vehicles and meet the competing teams. Public days are scheduled for June 25 and July 23 as well as an Open House event at MIS to be announced next month. Several media days are also scheduled throughout the competition. The public can also follow the progress of competing teams online at www.progressiveautoxprize.org where interactive updates, photos, and videos from MIS will be available throughout the competition.
Winners will be selected from two classes: Mainstream and Alternative. The following is a complete list of the 28 Qualified Teams, along with the class in which they will compete and their fuel type. Note that some teams are entering vehicles in each class. For more information on these teams, please visit www.progressiveautoxprize.org.
Mainstream Class Teams: Mainstream Class vehicles must carry four or more passengers, have four or more wheels, and offer a 200-mile range.
American HyPower, Centennial, Colorado (Gasoline, Hydrogen) APET-X, Hong Kong, China (Electric) BITW Technologies, Palmyra, Indiana (Biodiesel) Cornell 100+ MPG Team, Ithaca, New York (Biodiesel) Edison2, Charlottesville, Virginia (E85) Enginer, Troy, Michigan (Gasoline + Steam) Envera, Mill Valley, California (Gasoline) Global-E, Mandeville, Louisiana (Gasoline & Electric) Illuminati Motor Works, Virden, Illinois (Electric) Liberty Motors Group, Botkins, Ohio (Gasoline) Team FourSight, Morgantown, West Virginia (Biodiesel) West Philly Hybrid X (EVX), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Gasoline) WIKISPEED, Seattle, Washington (Gasoline)
Alternative Class Teams: Alternative Class vehicles must carry two or more passengers and allow for a 100 mile range.
amp, Blue Ash, Ohio (Electric) Aptera Motors, Vista, California (Electric) Edison2, Charlottesville, Virginia (E85) Envera, Mill Valley, California (Gasoline) FVT Racing, Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada (Gasoline) K-Way MOTUS, Turin, Italy (Gasoline) OptaMotive, San Jose, California (Electric) RaceAbout Association, Helsinki, Finland (Electric) Spira, Banglamung, Chonburi, Thailand (Gasoline) Tango (Commuter Cars), Spokane, Washington (Electric) Tata Motors Limited, Coventry, United Kingdom (Electric) Team EVI, Mooresville, North Carolina (Electric) Team EVX, Dallas, Texas (Electric) Team FourSight, Morgantown, West Virginia (Electric) TW4XP, Rosenthal, Germany (Electric) West Philly Hybrid X (EVX), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Biodiesel) Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington (Gasoline) X-Tracer Team Switzerland, Uster, Switzerland (Electric) ZAP, Santa Rosa, California (Electric)
On Thursday, April 29, five competition vehicles— including amp (Blue Ash, Ohio), Commuter Cars (Spokane, WA), Edison2 (Lynchburg, Virginia) and ZAP (Santa Rosa, California)— will be showcased on the lawn of the Michigan State Capitol in a celebratory kickoff event hosted by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). MEDC is also serving as host of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE on-track testing this spring and summer at MIS.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and top executives of the country's main carmakers and energy companies are meeting in Berlin to launch a new initiative to develop electric vehicles.
The so-called "national platform for electric mobility" being started Monday comes after Merkel pledged to have one million electric vehicles on the road within the next decade.
Merkel says there needs to be greater independence from natural resources. She is pushing sustainable technologies that will help limit the effects of climate change.
"The competition with other countries around the world must now be taken up, stronger than ever," she said at an industry summit in Berlin.
The National Electric Mobility Platform creates seven working groups for technological cooperation between industry and government, which is due to present an interim report by the end of 2010.
"The automobile industry will be investing a likely 20 billion euros (26 billion dollars) per year in research and development over the next several years, a significant portion of which will be into electric mobility, fuel efficient vehicles and other energy-saving measures," a summit communique said.
"We will be dealing intensively with all of the technological, energy and industrial questions in order to make the electric mobility sector and the German auto sector ready for the future," Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said.
The earliest introduction of electric vehicles for mass production by German manufacturers - including BMW, Volkswagen and Daimler - is expected to be around 2013, whereas Japan's Nissan and other car manufacturers are bringing electric models on to the market by late 2010.
"We still have no fully developed and price-competitive mass production vehicle available," Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper. Meanwhile the chiefs of Daimler and BMW on Monday rejected charges that the German car industry has been slow to adapt to the development of electric cars.
Arguing for more state funding for the development of the electric vehicle sector, BMW head Norbert Reithofer said on ZDF television that "it could under no circumstances be said that the car companies have let the development of alternative engines slide."
The government has, however, so far ruled out direct subventions for buyers of electric cars. Discussion of government incentives will centre around measures such as free parking in inner cities for electric vehicles and the possibility of such cars using bus lanes. Other questions will focus on how to bring electric vehicles within reach of ordinary consumers.
The German government has already given development funding to some 190 electric mobility projects, mostly in the private sector, totalling more than 100 million euros.
BMW AG's chief executive Norbert Reithofer says Germany is well positioned to become a technology leader in that market.
He says: "To make this happen, our leaders in politics and industry have to be pulling in the same direction."
Sion Power Corporation has received a three-year research grant worth up to $5 million from the United States Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E). Under this program, Sion Power, in collaboration with BASF, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, will accelerate the development of practical, economical and safe lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries for powering electric vehicles more than 300 miles between charges.
Li-S chemistry offers the highest energy potential of any two solid elements with more than twice the energy capacity of lithium ion technology at half the weight. This grant will fund a four-way collaboration coupling Sion Power’s patented materials and process technologies with expertise provided by national laboratories and the world’s largest chemical company, BASF, to expedite commercial success.
According to Sion Power’s CEO, Dr. Dennis Mangino, “We believe this ARPA-E grant is a strong vote of confidence in the future of our advantaged Li-S rechargeable battery technology. There is no other known commercial technology that will be able to match the electric vehicle driving performance enabled by Li-S batteries once the hurdles of cycle life and safety are overcome. This grant will allow us to accelerate that reality.”
Performance targets for this program are to exceed 500 Wh/kg and 500 cycles at commercially viable recharge rates. By 2016, the goal is to produce a cell with 600 Wh/kg and 1,000 cycles. While the energy potential of Li-S is well known, Sion Power has established proprietary and patented materials and methods for protecting the lithium metal anode which differentiates its approach from all other known Li-S research efforts. These advances directly improve cycle life and safety while allowing higher energy capacities to be achieved. Sion Power batteries contain no heavy metals and are environmentally preferred over other technologies.
All major automotive manufacturers are vigorously pursuing the introduction of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and/or all-electric vehicles that provide the range and comfort consumers have come to expect in automobiles. Sion Power’s focus is to be the first rechargeable battery company to develop battery technology that can safely and affordably meet these expectations. Sion Power believes that by utilizing Li-S technology, a battery pack weighing less than 700 lbs can power a 3,500 lb five-passenger vehicle more than 300 miles.
AMG will display a closer-to-production version electric SLS eDrive supercar later this year as it works towards a full production version in 2013.
The Mercedes-Benz performance arm rolled out the first eDrive concept at the last September’s Frankfurt motor show, and many sceptics viewed it as a one-off green publicity push, but departing AMG managing director Volker Mornhinweg has said the car is much more than that.
He said the company was deep into the development process for the car and on track for a 2013 debut.
The SLS eDrive has one 100kW motor per wheel fed by a lithium-ion battery pack housed in the same body shell as petrol SLS models.
Having driven the prototypes, Mr Mornhinweg is confident the production model will deliver the same kind of emotion as the petrol version of the supercar.
“I can tell you that it is an amazing kind of experience,” he said. “Therefore we are on the way to transport the same emotion as you can have with the combustion engine.”
One issue with an electric vehicle is the relative silence of the powerplant, a crucial element of supercar such as the SLS.
AMG is against mimicking a combustion engine note and would prefer for it to sound electric, with the whirring of motors that goes with it.
“I can tell you there is a sound; it is not the same as a V8,” Mr Mornhinweg said.
“It is totally different. There is some wind noise, but when you push the throttle there is a sound that I would describe as interesting – it sounds new and futuristic.”
Mr Mornhinweg said the SLS was a good vehicle to turn into an electric car.
“This concept is perfect for e-drive because we can take (out) a combustion engine and transaxle (gearbox) and make no changes to the body in white, and we can put in two motors with the gearbox in the rear, two motors and the gearbox in the front and we can take the centre console as a battery place – it looks like a T and it is perfect,” he said.
The estimated range is about 180km.
Mr Mornhinweg said it was important to build an all-electric supercar first and could consider other technology for extending the range.
“To go one step back is easier,” he said.
“First of all we will make the big move and learn all about the technology in the future we have to implement.”
The make-up of electric vehicles will depend on battery technology advancements, Mornhinweg said.
“In the long run it depends on what will be the next move in the battery technology and the whole world is working on that like hell,” he said.
“On the other hand we could go one step back with a range extender or with a fuel cell. Our company is number one with fuel cells.”
AMG is looking at other ways of reducing the fuel consumption of its cars, including a possible boosted four-cylinder small car.
It will also move away from its 6.2-litre naturally aspirated V8, which it calls a 6.3 for nostalgic reasons, opting instead for a more efficient twin turbocharged 5.5-litre V8 with direct injection that manages 420kW and 900Nm.
AMG says this engine will use about 25 per cent less fuel than the existing one.
This engine will be introduced in the large S-class sedan before being spread across the AMG range.
He agreed: “Without an e-motor (as a hybrid) I think so, except for very small ones such as range extenders.”
“The combustion engine we will see for the next decade, but it will be charged.”
