News
General Electric develops new Car Charger
General Electric has developed a charger to reduce the time it takes charge the batteries of electric cars by up to two thirds.
The WattStation is set to reduce the amount of time needed to fully charge a 24 kWh battery to somewhere between 4 and 8 hours.
The roadside version will be available commercially from 2011 with a modified home version to be sold later this year.
This will certainly broaden the appeal of the electric car and we at pluginsure are always keen to see new innovations which complement our electric car insurance provision in making electric vehicle ownership ever more appealing.
The What Car? Green Awards
Congratulations to the Renault-Nissan Alliance who recently picked up the Editor's Award for pioneering practical and fun electric cars. Steve Fowler said: "The Nissan Leaf and Renault Fluence will change people's perceptions of electric motoring for good."
It is very encouraging to see such well-respected vehicle manufacturers entering the electric car market; as more new electric cars become available we are committed to making sure that pluginsure will remain number one for high quality electric car insurance at an affordable price.
Smart Fortwo Ed
Smart's second-generation Fortwo Electric Drive could transform city motoring – and this according to no less an authority than Quentin Wilson.
At the launch of Smart's second-generation electric car last week, Quentin Wilson – the famed motoring journalist - quoted Aldous Huxley describing how "speed is the only truly modern sensation" in the novel Brave New World.
"Now you've got silent speed," Wilson said. "I challenge any motoring nutters to get into one of these electric cars and not be completely blown away."
Not surprising when its acceleration matches that of the petrol model and, while the top speed is limited to 62mph to conserve battery power, as the Smart is designed for city use this limitation will rarely be noticed. An increased battery range of 84 miles is a further bonus.
The main advantage over the company's first electric car, trialled in London more than two years ago, is the increased battery power, which, according to Smart's figures, gives a range of 84 miles as opposed to 50. Of course CO2 emissions are reduced to the tune of 2.6 tonnes per year over 10,000 miles when compared with the industry average.
Tesla and Toyota Electric Car Partnership
Tesla is to deliver two prototype electric vehicles to Toyota in the near future after the car manufacturers signed a memorandum of understanding formalising their recent agreement to work together on the development of zero emission vehicles.
The two prototypes will combine Toyota models with Tesla electric powertrain technology.
Meanwhile, Toyota President Akio Toyoda told reporters in Japan that the company was investigating using lithium-ion battery technology from Tesla in its planned electric cars.
Toyota has firmed up its commitment to electric vehicles in recent years and is expecting to launch its first all-electric car in 2012 based on its IQ mini-car.
Drive to make Norwich one of the first electric car cities
Business leaders in Norwich are being urged to sign up for a new partnership to drive the city towards becoming one of the first electric car cities in the country.
The government has given several incentives to encourage the growth of the electric vehicle market, including exempting electric cars from company car tax for five years from April this year.
Now representatives from Norwich City Council and the Low Carbon Innovation Centre (LCIC) at the University of East Anglia are discussing putting a partnership together aimed at tapping into some of the funding available to get the project off the ground.
Research conducted on behalf of the LCIC, which is also home to the CRed carbon reduction programme, has shown that Norwich is ideally placed to become an electric car city, with a park and ride network already in place, regular commuters and the university, which already has a biomass generator that could also be used for charging cars.
The research also showed that Norwich's fleet would provide good scope for electric vehicles, with many travelling between 50 and 80 miles per day, which is well within current specifications.
London Mayor Johnson pledges 25,000 electric car charging points
London Mayor Boris Johnson plans to turn the UK’s capital city into the ‘electric car capital of Europe’, promising that each Londoner will be within a mile of an electric charging point by 2015.
Speaking at the Copenhagen climate conference, Johnson spoke of his plan to build 25,000 electric car charging points, including 500 in London’s main streets, 2,000 in public car parks and 22,500 near workplaces. He also said that Transport for London will build a one-stop website that will provide electric car owners information on payment options and on accessing charging points across London.
This follows the Mayor’s earlier declaration that he would introduce 100,000 electric cars in the capital’s streets, install charging points across the city and to give incentives to drivers using electric cars.
Mitsubishi i-MiEV begins trials
The first zero-emissions fully electric city car to be used on the government-funded Technology Strategy Board (TSB) user trials has begun testing in the West Midlands.
The Mitsubishi i-MiEV (Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle), which has a top speed of 81mph, a range of 100 miles and can be trickle charged from flat to full in seven hours, is participating in a UK-wide project to test electric and ultra-low-emission vehicles.
Quentin Willson, one of the i-MiEV drivers participating in the trials, said: ‘The Mitsubishi i-MiEV is a forerunner of a transport revolution that eventually will change the world.’
Throughout the UK, a total of 340 vehicles will be tested using funding from the TSB and £2.5m from regional development agency, Advantage West Midlands. Aston University will be analysing and reporting the conclusions from the data generated by the vehicles.
Iain Gray, chief executive of the TSB, said: ‘The journey towards low-carbon transport will not be easy, but the demonstrator programme is the biggest project of its kind to date and is a major step in the right direction.’
Other vehicles to be rolled out for trials in 2010 will include Smart ed, Tata Indica, Microcab, Land Rover Range E and LTI.
Mitsubishi Motors to double electric car output
pluginsure has learnt that Mitsubishi will double its production capacity target for its iMiEV electric car to an annual 20,000 units in three years and lift output of lithium ion batteries.
The automaker had initially planned to make 2,000 plug-in cars this business year and raise that to 10,000 units in the year ending March 2012.
Remember, pluginsure is able to offer insurance for all electric vehicles, including the iMiEV.
Renault, Nissan to supply electric cars in Ireland
Fresh faces on the electric vehicle market, France's Renault and Japan's Nissan, will supply electric cars to the Irish market within two years as part of a government plan to have 10 percent of vehicles electric by 2020, Ireland's Energy Minister has revealed.
"Today's initiative will transform our streets, will cut carbon emissions and change the face of transport in Ireland," Minister Eamon Ryan said.
Ryan said the government hoped to sign similar agreements with other auto manufacturers to ensure that around 230,000 electric cars, vans, trucks and bikes are on Irish roads by 2020.
Following this agreement, Ireland will be one of the first countries in the world to be supplied with both Renault and Nissan electric cars.
The Franco-Japanese alliance is aiming to be the first to mass-market zero emission electric cars, starting with an initial limited rollout in 2010.
Renault has said it wants to sell 20,000 to 40,000 electric cars in 2011, while Nissan has not disclosed a target.
Electric vehicles reduce running costs and cut down carbon dioxide emissions. On top of that, you can now get insurance for your electric vehicles online from pluginsure!
Electric and Hybrid cars coming soon
Toyota Prius hybrid
CO2 emissions: 89g/km; price: from £18,370
Toyota, the market leader, sold 58,000 hybrids worldwide in 2008, Its new third-generation Prius, which goes on sale in the UK in July, is greener that ever. The five-seater car is now powered by a 1.8 petrol engine, which works with a nickel-hydride battery. Toyota is also developing a "plug-in" Prius, which can be refuelled with petrol or recharged with electricity.
Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric
CO2 emissions: 0g/km; estimated price: £20,000
Mitsubishi has developed a proper four-seat electric car, as opposed to a G-Wiz style quadricycle. It takes seven hours to recharge, using a conventional three-pin plug. With zero carbon emissions, it has no road tax, fuel costs of less than 2p a mile and complete exemption from the London Congestion Charge!
Lexus RX450h SUV hybrid
CO2 emissions: 148g/km; estimated price: £35,505
Lexus, Toyota's luxury division, is replacing its successful existing hybrid with a new model that runs at up to 10mph on battery power alone. It has regenerative braking for greater fuel efficiency, and the driver can select eco mode, which changes the throttle mapping and eases air-con use.
Tesla Model S electric
CO2 emissions: 0g/km; estimated price: £100,000
Billed as the world's first mass-produced, electric car capable of motorway travel, Tesla Motors claims it can go 300 miles on one charge. The company is negotiating a $350 million US Government load to secure the project. The car can take a quick charge in 45 minutes or a full charge in four hours. Tesla says that tax incentives, and cheaper maintenance will make the car competitive.