The Electric Car's Not Dead

Electric cars with a range of 125, 155, and 250 miles have been announced by three Asian car makers.  The longer ranges than previous models make them more practical and they should appeal to a larger market.  They are also good news for The Energy Revolution as electric cars, to the extent that they are used, reduce the consumption of liquid transportation fuels, switching it to electrical energy, which does not rely on these fuels that are becoming in short supply.

Subaru plans a car, the R1e, to be released in Japan as early as 2009, with 125 mile range, using lithium-ion batteries, that can be recharged to 90% of capacity in 5 minutes.

Mitsubishi Motors has plans to release a mini-vehicle in 2008.  The car, called the Mieve, has a 155 mile range, a 90 mph top speed, powered by lithium-ion batteries, will have a recharge time of 4 hours and be priced under $18,300.  This appears to be a smaller car, with a earlier delivery date than the car I described in a previous post, although their quite a few similarities or they may have modified their plans.

Chinese battery maker Byd, worlds second largest manufacturer of  rechargeable batteries for cell phones, bought out a Chinese automaker and claims it has developed an EV with a range of 250 miles on lithium-ion batteries, and a top speed of 75mph.  It is building a 200,000 unit plant in western China and is planning to export world-wide.

These cars have enough range for most commuters and all use lithium-ion batteries, indicating that this battery is catching on and should be the standard for hybrids and electrics within five years.  The quick charging Subaru makes it as easy as filling up for gas. Because all of these cars are quite small they may have a hard time in American markets, but who knows what $3.00 or higher gas prices will do to consumer tastes. 

Resources:

"The Electric Car's Not Dead; Asian Companies Strive for Breakthrough", Edmunds/Inside Line, 8/19/05
"Subaru Joins Electric Car Race with R1e", treehugger, 8/21/05
"Mitsubishi, TEPCO To Team Up On Electric Car", Terra Daily, 8/18/05
"Battery firm bids for leading role in auto Industry", People's Daily Online, 2/4/04

Technocrati tag: electric vehicles

Comments

[Robert McLeod]

The improving performance of batteries, especially with regards to the charging curve, is good news. However, I think fundementally because they storage with the power plant, that they will have difficulty competing in the marketplace with the more flexible hybrids. Not too many people are willing to pay $X dollars for a vehicle that can only commute. They want some cargo capacity, they want the ability to drive to the next state.

Bob,
I agree with you. As I have said many times I am only trying to put the facts before my readers, for whatever it is worth. The only way electrics can compete is if they are less expensive-either in cost or obvious fuel cost savings - or for the second or third car that a household can devote to trips that are in the milage range that an electric can deliver.

Jim for The Energy Blog

[JesseJenkins]

I agree. While ideally, we should all have small (probably electric) commuter cars for daily use and rent from a pool of common larger cars for the rare times when we need them (camping, road trips, moving etc.) - incidentally an option for some in large cities), it is unlikely that a car that can only be used for one use will catch on in any large way in the US. That is why I think Plug-in Hybrids are much more promising than straight EVs. They allow you to operate in all electric for most of the time (90%?) when you are commuting, doing around town errands etc. But they also allow you the increased range flexibility of being able to fill up for longer trips when you need to.

Remember though that any advances in EVs also drive advances in Plug-in HEVs so this is great news, especially the quick charging Subaru. Does anyone know if they are using the Toshiba quick-charge battery that I have heard news of recently?

[Jim for The Energy Blog]

While I agree totally that an electric car makes lttle sense for most families or individuals with only one car, there are some instances where it makes sense. The plug-in hybrid (if we could get one economically) is the best solution for the primary vehicle in a household.

The electric car makes sense for the second car in a family if the primary driver of the electric lives within the range the car is going to be used for - less than 20-30 miles from work or if a stay at home mom. Even that might not work if both drivers occasionally want to go beyond the range of the electric.

There must be at least a niche market, I don't know how big, that would be big enough for a manufacturer to produce these cars for the developed world. Lithium-ion batteries are certainly good enough now, there cost is still high, but that will come down with higher production volumes. Valence's loss is getting smaller each quarter - some of the big battery makers certainly can afford to subsidize their sales a little bit until sales volumes get up there. If the 5 minute recharge works out, the range issue all but disappears.

[CHARLES G. LANCLOS]

It is certainly time for change! And let this change occur with thunder and lightening. I am so ready for the electric cycle or car with a super/superior battery and easy and quick recharger system.

[amazingdrx]

"an electric car makes lttle sense for most families or individuals with only one car"

Rent a car for over 100 mile trips Jim. That makes sense.

Have a used car converted to electric plugin for under 100 miles between charges. The cost? About 15k to 20k. About the same as a new electric car, were they mass produced.

That would work for most familes. Plugin hybrids for the remaining ones.