- Email: [email protected]
EV1 attracts strong interest on debut
EVI
attracts
strong
GENERAL Motors (GM) is reporting strong interest in the XV1 since the electric car was released on 5 December 1996. The EVl, the Iirst electric car to be made available to the general public by a major automotive company, is a two seater with a price approaching US635 000. It is being offered for lease at Saturn dealerships in southern California and Arizona. A Los Angeles, California, dealer said interest had been incredible on the first day, with five customers taking delivery of a new car. GM, which first unveiled the electric car in 1989, said it has received more than 3000 inquiries about the cars since the sales plan was announced in January.
Other
car makers
Although GM is the first major car company to release an electric car, it is far from the only manufacturer looking for business in this market. The other two members of North America’s ‘Big Three’, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler Carp, together with a number of Japanese and European car makers, have very active programs in a range of alternative fuel vehicle projects. Chrysler and Ford both intend to start selling electric powered vans and trucks by materials may benefit from efforts to produce lighter, more efficient electric motors. Also, in the wider context of metal powders, there may be increased opportunities for powder makers in some of the new battery types, such as nickelcadmium, that may be used to power electric vehicles. Electric vehicles will, as Jandeska emphasizes, continue to offer the same diverse range of applications outside of the powerplant as existing vehicles - anti-lock braking system parts, seat slides, steering wheel locks, parking brake applications, etc.
Hybrids concepts
interest
early 1998. Both will use lead acid batteries s:lmilar to those GM is using. Japanese automotive manufa’cturers Honda Motor Co and Toyota Motor Corp, meanwhile, plan to market electric veh:cles in the US with longer range nickel-metal hydride batteries in early 1997, while Nissan Motor Co is preparing to introduce a vehicle using lithium-ion batteries. Among the IEuropean manufacturers, Daimler Benz has a particularly active alternative fuel vehicle program. Indeed, the company recently unveiled ‘NECAR II’, its latest fuel cell powered concept car. Rather than using batteries, this vehicle is powered by electricity generated by a controlled reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, which 1eaw:s water vapour as the only waste emission.
and
other
It is likely, however, that in the short term the majority of electric vehicles will be hybrid units rather than fully dedicated to
Infrastructure A further boost to the USA’s fledgling electr-lc car industry has come from the announcement that a major alliance has been formed to provide charging equipment for both residential and commercial customers. The alliance unites Edison EV, a leading electric vehicle infrastructure provider, with three electric utilities in California - !jan Diego Gas Electric Co, Southern California Edison and Sacramento Municipal Utility. Edison EV the new power source. In addition to their electric motor, these vehicles will retain a scaled down version of a combustion engine which would feed through a motor control unit into the electric motor. This combustion engine will continue to offer the established applications to the PM industry. Scaling down, however, will still mean a significant impact in terms of total weight. Jandeska says these s:mall engines are likely to have three cylinders with a one litre fuel capacity. This inevitably means fewer and/or smaller valves, connecting rods, valves and similar parts. Nor is it certain that electricity will become the only, or most prominent, alternative fuel source. Fuel cells and gas turbines, as well as cleaner fuel sources for the combustion en-
on debut is negotiating marketing alliantes with Arizona utilities as well. The alliance provide the basis for building and marketing charging networks throughout California. The agreements address sales and marketing of electric vehicle chargers in each utility’s service territory, branding practices on charger units in public and private settings, servicing of chargers, and utility practices that will allow easy and rapid installation of chargers at customer locations. “Building a charging infrastructure to meet the needs of electric vehicle owners and public charging customers simply can’t be done by any single company txylng to make says like the Ione Ranger,” Edison EV president, Diane Wittenberg. “To succeed, Edison EV needs strong alliances with local electric utilities and equally strong partnerships with the makers of electric vehicles and chargers.” In terms of the latter, Edison EV has also formed an alliance with General Motors to provide residential chargers for owners of the EVl electric vehicle. Under terms of this alliance, Edison EV is providing ‘one stop shopping’ of charger installation for new EV owners using a network of certified electrical contractors. n gine such as methanol and ethanol, are all potential candidates. Which, if any, of these emerges as the most successful vehicle type may depend as much on government legislation as technical innovation. California’s zero emission (ZEV) standard, which from 1998 will phase in requirements for an increasing percentage of new vehicles sold in the state to be emission free, has been a driving force behind the development of the EVl. Alternative approaches to environmental legislation may even see a variety of vehicle concepts emerge in different states and countries. The first shots in a revolution have indeed been fired, but it appears that the PM industry still has plenty of time to marshal1 its defences. MPR January
1997
23
attracts
strong
GENERAL Motors (GM) is reporting strong interest in the XV1 since the electric car was released on 5 December 1996. The EVl, the Iirst electric car to be made available to the general public by a major automotive company, is a two seater with a price approaching US635 000. It is being offered for lease at Saturn dealerships in southern California and Arizona. A Los Angeles, California, dealer said interest had been incredible on the first day, with five customers taking delivery of a new car. GM, which first unveiled the electric car in 1989, said it has received more than 3000 inquiries about the cars since the sales plan was announced in January.
Other
car makers
Although GM is the first major car company to release an electric car, it is far from the only manufacturer looking for business in this market. The other two members of North America’s ‘Big Three’, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler Carp, together with a number of Japanese and European car makers, have very active programs in a range of alternative fuel vehicle projects. Chrysler and Ford both intend to start selling electric powered vans and trucks by materials may benefit from efforts to produce lighter, more efficient electric motors. Also, in the wider context of metal powders, there may be increased opportunities for powder makers in some of the new battery types, such as nickelcadmium, that may be used to power electric vehicles. Electric vehicles will, as Jandeska emphasizes, continue to offer the same diverse range of applications outside of the powerplant as existing vehicles - anti-lock braking system parts, seat slides, steering wheel locks, parking brake applications, etc.
Hybrids concepts
interest
early 1998. Both will use lead acid batteries s:lmilar to those GM is using. Japanese automotive manufa’cturers Honda Motor Co and Toyota Motor Corp, meanwhile, plan to market electric veh:cles in the US with longer range nickel-metal hydride batteries in early 1997, while Nissan Motor Co is preparing to introduce a vehicle using lithium-ion batteries. Among the IEuropean manufacturers, Daimler Benz has a particularly active alternative fuel vehicle program. Indeed, the company recently unveiled ‘NECAR II’, its latest fuel cell powered concept car. Rather than using batteries, this vehicle is powered by electricity generated by a controlled reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, which 1eaw:s water vapour as the only waste emission.
and
other
It is likely, however, that in the short term the majority of electric vehicles will be hybrid units rather than fully dedicated to
Infrastructure A further boost to the USA’s fledgling electr-lc car industry has come from the announcement that a major alliance has been formed to provide charging equipment for both residential and commercial customers. The alliance unites Edison EV, a leading electric vehicle infrastructure provider, with three electric utilities in California - !jan Diego Gas Electric Co, Southern California Edison and Sacramento Municipal Utility. Edison EV the new power source. In addition to their electric motor, these vehicles will retain a scaled down version of a combustion engine which would feed through a motor control unit into the electric motor. This combustion engine will continue to offer the established applications to the PM industry. Scaling down, however, will still mean a significant impact in terms of total weight. Jandeska says these s:mall engines are likely to have three cylinders with a one litre fuel capacity. This inevitably means fewer and/or smaller valves, connecting rods, valves and similar parts. Nor is it certain that electricity will become the only, or most prominent, alternative fuel source. Fuel cells and gas turbines, as well as cleaner fuel sources for the combustion en-
on debut is negotiating marketing alliantes with Arizona utilities as well. The alliance provide the basis for building and marketing charging networks throughout California. The agreements address sales and marketing of electric vehicle chargers in each utility’s service territory, branding practices on charger units in public and private settings, servicing of chargers, and utility practices that will allow easy and rapid installation of chargers at customer locations. “Building a charging infrastructure to meet the needs of electric vehicle owners and public charging customers simply can’t be done by any single company txylng to make says like the Ione Ranger,” Edison EV president, Diane Wittenberg. “To succeed, Edison EV needs strong alliances with local electric utilities and equally strong partnerships with the makers of electric vehicles and chargers.” In terms of the latter, Edison EV has also formed an alliance with General Motors to provide residential chargers for owners of the EVl electric vehicle. Under terms of this alliance, Edison EV is providing ‘one stop shopping’ of charger installation for new EV owners using a network of certified electrical contractors. n gine such as methanol and ethanol, are all potential candidates. Which, if any, of these emerges as the most successful vehicle type may depend as much on government legislation as technical innovation. California’s zero emission (ZEV) standard, which from 1998 will phase in requirements for an increasing percentage of new vehicles sold in the state to be emission free, has been a driving force behind the development of the EVl. Alternative approaches to environmental legislation may even see a variety of vehicle concepts emerge in different states and countries. The first shots in a revolution have indeed been fired, but it appears that the PM industry still has plenty of time to marshal1 its defences. MPR January
1997
23