Posted: August 4th, 2010 | Author: Steve | Filed under: Cars | Tags: BEV, Cars, Chevy Volt, EV, evatran, inductive charging, nissan, nissan leaf, plug-in 2010, plugless power, Tom Hough, Transportation | View Comments
Besides the Nissan LEAF and Chevy Volt, charging infrastructure and charging stations for plug-in electric vehicles, were the hot product announcements at last week’s Plug-In 2010 Conference. One of the most interesting of these was the the unveiling of Plugless Power, “the worlds first hands-free, proximity charging system” by Evatran.
The two-part system, based upon the principle of inductive charging, works without any operator involvement. A driver can park his vehicle in a Plugless Power equipped parking space and walk away, as the system automatically begins charging the vehicle.
Posted: August 3rd, 2010 | Author: Steve | Filed under: Cars | Tags: BEV, Cars, EV, Leaf, nissan, nissan leaf, Transportation | View Comments
Earlier this week, I wrote about the launch of Nissan’s first fully-electric vehicle, the LEAF, and General Motors’ “parallel-hybrid” EV, the Chevy Volt. To briefly recap, the LEAF will have an MSRP of $32,780, leaving it close to $22,000 after Federal and State rebates. It has a range of 100 miles on a full charge, comes with an 8-year/100K mile battery warranty, and will be available for delivery to select cities starting in December.
I got a chance to test drive the LEAF, and, while I expected it to be a good car (Nissan quality, fully-electric drive), I hadn’t realized just how much I would like it. It’s fun to drive, and appears to deliver the experience that most small-car buyers expect and the range that they need, without sacrificing much. Perhaps the EV transition won’t be that difficult after all!
Posted: August 3rd, 2010 | Author: Steve | Filed under: Gadgets | Tags: BEV, EV, Leaf, nissan, nissan leaf, Transportation | View Comments
The Plug-In 2010 Conference in San Jose was the site of major announcements by major auto manufacturers Nissan and General Motors. During their Tuesday morning speeches, both Nissan North America’s executive vice president, Carlos Tavares, and General Motors vice president of U.S. marketing, Joel Ewanick, announced that their much-anticipated products would be available in only a limited number of cities, at first, and that both companies will begin delivering cars by the end of the year.
Even though there are many similarities and differences, both Nissan and GM are betting that U.S. auto buyers will embrace the plug with open arms.
Posted: May 25th, 2010 | Author: Steve | Filed under: Technology | Tags: A2B, bikes, EV, Technology, the ki, Ultra Motors | View Comments
At the recent Taste of Ki eco-chic product showcase, I was lucky enough to be able to take a test-ride on a very nice electric bicycle, the A2B Metro, made by Ultra Motor.
What I discovered was an entirely new class of vehicle: an electric bike that is just as easy to pedal as it is to ride motor-only. While the bike itself appeared to be a well-constructed, well-designed and well-thought-out piece of personal transportation, I wondered exactly who would be buying it, given its whopping $3,000 price tag. The answer may surprise you.
Posted: January 4th, 2010 | Author: Steve | Filed under: Cars | Tags: Business, Cars, cleantech, Cleanteh Open, EV, EVIN, PHEV, SABA, tesla, Transportation | View Comments
While Tesla Motors and other EV manufacturers have had recent successes and grabbed quite a few headlines, they still face a major hurdle: charging infrastructure. Without a fast and reliable way to re-fuel their vehicles, EV customers will be limited to those who drive less than 200 miles per day or those who can afford to keep the vehicle as a novelty. According to investment website the Motley Fool, 220-volt charging times are the Achilles heel of EVs, with the Tesla Roadsters’ current 200-volt unit taking approximately 4 hours to fully charge.
Automotive industry analyst Jim Motavalli (bnet.com) writes about Tesla’s dilemma in the context of the company’s rumored IPO, first reported by Reuters but denied by Tesla management. Motavalli points to one solution to the charging infrastructure, proposed by The Car Charging Group, Inc. (CCGI):
According to CEO Andy Kinard, Florida-based CCGI will not build its own charging technology, but will distribute chargers built by established player Coulomb. Its business model…is to sign contracts with businesses…that operate parking lots. The contract spells out revenue sharing between the parties, so parking slots will gain free EV infrastructure and lot managers will get cash from charging.
The article also goes on to say that CCGI will standardize on “J1772 charging hardware” and will go from 0 to 1,000 units by the end of 2010. While this would certainly be good news for Tesla, it is not entirely clear just how reliable CCGI’s predictions are.
However, what the article does not mention is that this is not the whole story for electric vehicle infrastructure. Some startups are focusing on an entirely different strategy. One such company is the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Network (EVIN), and its business model circumvents the “chicken-and-egg” problem altogether.
