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EVPlus - February 2013 News

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VW XL1 diesel-electric 314 mpg plug-in hybrid revealed
Added by admin 21/02/13

VW’s lightweight, VW XL1 promises an EU-certified economy of 0.9 l/100km - 314mpg and 21g/km CO2 emissions when it goes into limited production later this year following its Geneva motor show reveal next month.
Powered by a 47 hp two-cylinder 800cc TDI engine backed up by a 27 hp electric motor and plug-in 5.5kWh lithium-ion battery pack, the two-seat car is claimed to have a Cd rating of just 0.189.
The upshot is that the plug-in hybrid XL1 is probably the most economical and most aerodynamically efficient production car of all time. (The General Motors EV1 had a Cd of 0.195)...
 

                                                  Photo & story courtesy and more: Electric Vehicle News  

 

The Audi A3 e-tron plug-in hybrid unveiled
Added by admin 21/02/13

Audi will preview a new 201bhp petrol-electric hybrid powered version of its third-generation Audi A3 at the Geneva motor show in early March.
The Audi A3 e-tron sprints from 0 to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in 7.6 seconds on its way to a top speed of 222 km/h (137.94 mph). According to the ECE standard for plug-in hybrid automobiles, the five-door model consumes on average just 1.5 liters of fuel per 100 km (156.81 US mpg), which corresponds to CO2 emissions of 35 grams per km (56.33 g/mile). In electric mode, the Audi A3 e-tron reaches a top speed of 130 km/h (80.78 mph) and has a maximum range of 50 km (31.07 miles)...

                                                  Photo & story courtesy and more: Electric Vehicle News  

 

Volkswagen e-Golf Specs emerge ahead of Geneva debut
Added by admin 20/02/13

Preliminary details and first photos with the Volkswagen e-Golf are now available, ahead of the EV's debut in Geneva next month.
The front-wheel drive electric Golf VII will feature an electric motor capable of developing 115 hp (85.76 kW) and an instant torque of 270 Nm (199 lb-ft). Thanks to this setup, the e-Golf will need 11.8 seconds to complete the 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) run, before reaching an electronically limited top speed of only 84 mph (135 km/h).
The lithium-ion battery is mounted under the rear seats and has a capacity of 26.5 kWh which should be enough for a range of up to 175 km (109 miles). Charging from a regular household outlet will be done in at least five hours. The added hardware has increased the Golf's weight by 250 kg (551 lbs)....
                                                  Photo & story courtesy and more: Electric Vehicle News  

 

2015 Seat Altea XL Ecomotive Electric
Added by admin 17/02/13

The Altea XL Electric is SEAT’s first all-electric car. It has a range of 135 kilometres (84 miles), a power output of 115 hp (85 kW), an engine torque of 270 Nm (199 lb-ft) and a top speed of 135 km/h (84 mph).
The battery pack is located under the rear seats and the trunk, meaning no reduction in passenger compartment space, and it carries photovoltaic panels on the roof to cut energy requirements for the vehicle’s air-conditioning. SEAT hopes to put the technology into production in 2015.

                                                     Story courtesy and more (video): Electric Vehicle News  

 

Silicon nanoparticles used to create a super-performing battery
Added by admin 14/02/13

In some peoples’ opinion, electric cars won’t become truly viable until their batteries offer a lot more driving range, and can be recharged much more quickly than is currently possible. Well, those people may soon be getting their wish. Scientists at the University of Southern California have developed a new type of lithium-ion battery, that they claim holds three times as much energy as a conventional li-ion, and can be recharged in just ten minutes.
The battery was developed by a team led by Prof. Chongwu Zhou. Its secret is that it utilizes anodes made from porous silicon nanoparticles – anodes are the electrodes through which electrical current flows into a battery. Ordinarily, anodes in li-ion batteries are made from graphite...

                                  Story courtesy and more: gizmag    Photo courtesy and more: Springer

 

Bristol to unveil hybrid supercar
Added by admin 06/02/13

Bristol Cars, famous for 67 years of ‘gentleman’s GTs’, is close to unveiling an all-new hybrid supercar, perhaps as soon as July’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The new car will use a range-extended powertrain devised by Bristol’s associate company Frazer-Nash, the Surrey-based research firm run by Indian tech entrepreneur Kamal Siddiqi, who also owns the rights to the Wankel rotary engine.
The Bristol is believed to send permanent electric drive to all four wheels, with a petrol engine — probably a compact rotary — powering a generator to feed a bank of lithium ion batteries. Frazer-Nash sources are secretive about the car’s precise layout and looks, but say an outside consultant will style the car....

                                                                    Photo and story courtesy and more: Autocar

 

Better Place To Shut Down U.S. and Australian Operations
Added by admin 05/02/13

Better Place’s ambitions to wean the world from oil have shrunk to just two countries as the electric car infrastructure startup said Tuesday it would shutter its North American office and stop investing in its Australian operations.
The move comes as the company founded in Silicon Valley but now headquartered in Tel Aviv installed its third chief executive in as many months.
“In the short term, the company will focus its energy and resources on its two core markets, Israel and Denmark,” Susanne Tolstrup, Better Place’s director of communications, said in an e-mail on Tuesday.
“We plan an orderly wind-down to fulfill all our commitments, so it may take some time,” John Proctor, a Better Place spokesman, wrote in an e-mail regarding the company’s Palo Alto office.
Those two countries are where Better Place has launched its first two networks of switch stations that let customers swap out depleted batteries in their Renault Fluence Z.E. electric sedans for fresh ones. Drivers buy the car but Better Place provides the batteries in exchange for a monthly fee based on the number of kilometers driven...

                                                                    Photo and story courtesy and more: Forbes

 

Bentley Plug-In Hybrid SUV Confirmed For Production?
Added by admin 05/02/13

German carmaker Volkswagen plans to have its U.K. unit Bentley manufacture a luxury SUV, with the basic version costing EUR200,000, German daily Handelsblatt reported Monday, citing sources close to the VW supervisory board.
Bentley CEO Wolfgang Schreiber said at the Detroit auto show in January that the SUV's design will resemble the rest of the Bentley brand rather following than the controversial design of the EXP 9F concept. He said the SUV is expected to launch within three years.
The EXP 9 F concept on display in Beijing was based around the Bentley 6.0 litre, twin-turbocharged W12 petrol engine, developing 600bhp and 800 Nm of torque coupled with an 8-speed close-ratio transmission.
A range of other powertrain options are also under consideration. This includes Bentley's recently launched 500bhp, 4.0 litre petrol V8 as well as a groundbreaking powertrain for the luxury SUV segment – a V6 plug-in hybrid. With a potential 30km range in full electric mode and CO2 emissions of 130g/km, the V6 hybrid would still be capable of a 0 to 100km/h sprint time of less than 5 seconds...

                                                   Photo and story courtesy and more: Electric Vehicle News

 

Lightweight Spanish Electric Scooter.
Added by admin 04/02/13

Weighing in as it does at a mere 45 kg (99 lb), it's tempting to categorize the Xkuty as an electric bicycle. There's a small problem with doing so, though. It doesn't have any pedals. Needless to say, its designers from Spain bill this as a feature (thanks to the lack of chain), though it does leave little room for debate: the Xkuty is a scooter, albeit a remarkably lightweight one.
As well as the weight, the creators of the Xkuty are keen to stress its ease of use. The Xkuty ships without an instruction manual, the advertising boasts, needing the press of a single button on the right handlebar to start up. It's quiet, too, emitting an average of just 5 dB if the claims are accurate.
The Xkuty boasts a 1500-W motor granting a top speed of 45 km/h (28 mph). This is powered by dual lithium batteries with a combined storage of 17-Ah, apparently good for a range of 50 km (or 31 miles). Recharging takes two hours at a cost of 50 euro cents via one's domestic electrical supply. Such figures make for competitive running costs, though the makers of the Xkuty point out that one is likely to have to replaced the battery every couple of years if used regularly...

                                                                      Photo and story courtesy and more: gizmag

 

A Week with the Holden Volt Extended Range Electric Vehicle
Added by admin 01/02/13

General Motors Holden were generous enough to recently loan EV News a Holden Volt for a week.
On sale in Australia since November, the Holden Volt is a right hand drive version of the Chevy Volt minus a few features like OnStar and the RemoteLink mobile app.
The Volt has the same sized battery (16 kWh) as the all electric Mitsubishi iMiEV but because the Volt is a much larger car, carries around the weight of a 1.4 Lt petrol engine and as a result weighs 70% more than the iMiEV (1,080 kg Vs 1,715 kg) it falls just short of the iMiEV's 100 km battery range. The Volt routinely achieves 70 - 80 km from a full charge in EV mode out of a total combined range of 600 km.
Having now driven a couple thousand kilometres in the plug-in hybrid, we've noticed the Voltec powertrain has more acceleration power in charge-sustain mode (114 kw / 155 hp) than the maximum available in EV mode (107 kw / 145 hp). While 150 horsepower doesn't sound like much, when combined with more torque than a 3.5 Lt Commodore V6 (370 Nm) multiplied by the 7:1 reduction gear ratio, the Volt has impressive mid range acceleration. The Voltec powertrain has four modes of operation so that with a depleted battery & under heavy load the 54 kw ICE / generator combines with the 111 kw main traction motor to provide extra power on demand...

                                                 Photo and story courtesy and more: Electric Vehicle News

 

   
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