By Johnson
As of today Nissan, Mitsubishi, Renault, Toyota and Honda have already begun manufacturing electric and partially electric hybrid cars. It is also expected that other manufacturers and those including premium brands will follow suit. So as the festival of light approaches we here at www.PlugInIndia.com bring to you the annual round up of the Electric Cars around the World.
To read more click on the green "Read More" button on the bottom right side.
As of today Nissan, Mitsubishi, Renault, Toyota and Honda have already begun manufacturing electric and partially electric hybrid cars. It is also expected that other manufacturers and those including premium brands will follow suit. So as the festival of light approaches we here at www.PlugInIndia.com bring to you the annual round up of the Electric Cars around the World.
To read more click on the green "Read More" button on the bottom right side.
All across the globe more and more carmakers and more and more countries are slowly but steadily moving over to a fuel that can be lavishly recharged either through the Sunlight or Wind almost equally all over the world. I have tried to list down the countries making notable strides towards Electrifying their cars.
Norway which is the 2nd least populated nation in the world has about 15,000 electric cars registered through December 2012, and so it becomes the country with the largest EV ownership per capita in the world, and its electric-drive car sales in 2012 represented a 3.1% market share of passenger car sales, making Norway the country with the highest market penetration in the world. Oslo is recognized as the EV capital of the world.
Japan: During 2012, sales of pure electric cars were led by Japan with a 28% market share of global sales, followed by the United States with a 26% share, China with 16%, France with 11%, and Norway with 7%.
As of early 2010, in Japan there were only 60 public charging stations, and as of December 2012, it had 1,381 public quick-charge stations, the largest deployment of fast chargers in the world. The Japanese government has set up a target to deploy 2 million slow chargers and 5,000 fast charging points by 2020.
Chinese government adopted a plan with the goal of turning the country into one of the leaders of all-electric and hybrid vehicles by 2012. The government's intention is to create a world-leading industry that will produce jobs and exports, and to reduce urban pollution and its oil dependence.
A group in Iceland was planning to convert all vehicles in the country to electric by 2012, the first to do so. As of 2012 this has not happened.
In Philippines the first electric car in the country was launched at Silliman University by Insular Technologies in August 2007. In some major urban cities in the Philippines like Makati, E-Jeepneys or Electric Jeepneys are used as well as Electrical Tricycles (Rickshaws). Eagle G-Car a Philippine all-electric car was made available for purchase in the Philippines as low as $3,000-$6,000), the car is made out of fiber glass.
Finland: Basic charging infrastructure are available all over Finland, used for engine pre-warming in the cold winters. Because of its climate – cold winters and warm summers – Finland is considered a convenient "test laboratory" for electric cars and many companies have made field tests in Finland. They are also testing a kind of three-phase charging method by which electric cars can be charged in four minutes flat.
In India there are sales of Mahindra E20 Electric cars every month starting from March 2013. The 2nd generation of the E2O is expected sometime next year. An electric sedan named Mahindra Verito which is similar in size and shape to Nissan Sunny/Toyota Corolla. Since 2012 as the domestic petrol price started to rise… e-bikes have started to re-enter the Indian Market with quite a bit of local participation, unlike the earlier charge which was led by the Chinese companies. One of the reasons for the low popularity of the e-bikes was the poor quality of Chinese batteries that were used with those e-bikes. Thus the customers also lost trust thinking that the batteries in e-bikes were untrustworthy and petrol bikes were best. But now with better batteries available the EV scenario looks promising. The Government is also pushing a lot of Solar Panels on House Roof-top. This will make the market more EV friendly.
Brazil.. as of February 2013, there were only 70 electric cars registered in the country, of which, 68 are corporate cars, including 9 Nissan Leafs that are being demonstrated as taxis in São Paulo.
In May 2010 the Brazilian government put on hold a new policy to promote the introduction of electric cars, and a decision is still pending. Instead, plug-in electric cars and hybrid electric vehicles are subject to high taxes, including a 35% import tax, plus a 55% tax on industrialized products (IPI), 13% contribution to social security (PIS/COFINS), and between 12 to 18% tax on transit of goods and services (ICMS), depending on the state, adding up to more than 120%. ...!?#?@?!
According to Research and Markets, electric vehicles sales in the country are expected to reach 80,000 units annually in 2020. The research firm forecasts that the Brazilian electric vehicle market will likely be dominated by scooter and motorcycles.
Electric Cars - Now!
There is also a non-commercial electric car conversion organization called Electric Cars - Now! that converts standard Toyota Corollas into Li-ion battery-powered electric cars. As of August 2009, more than 1,700 pre-orders for conversion Toyotas have been placed. The specialty in the “Electric Cars - Now!” project is that it is an open source project: anyone can start similar production anywhere they want, the benefits for the customer being open-source spare part coding and so on. The ideas and design are freely available from the Electric Cars - Now! Organization.
Norway which is the 2nd least populated nation in the world has about 15,000 electric cars registered through December 2012, and so it becomes the country with the largest EV ownership per capita in the world, and its electric-drive car sales in 2012 represented a 3.1% market share of passenger car sales, making Norway the country with the highest market penetration in the world. Oslo is recognized as the EV capital of the world.
Japan: During 2012, sales of pure electric cars were led by Japan with a 28% market share of global sales, followed by the United States with a 26% share, China with 16%, France with 11%, and Norway with 7%.
As of early 2010, in Japan there were only 60 public charging stations, and as of December 2012, it had 1,381 public quick-charge stations, the largest deployment of fast chargers in the world. The Japanese government has set up a target to deploy 2 million slow chargers and 5,000 fast charging points by 2020.
Chinese government adopted a plan with the goal of turning the country into one of the leaders of all-electric and hybrid vehicles by 2012. The government's intention is to create a world-leading industry that will produce jobs and exports, and to reduce urban pollution and its oil dependence.
A group in Iceland was planning to convert all vehicles in the country to electric by 2012, the first to do so. As of 2012 this has not happened.
In Philippines the first electric car in the country was launched at Silliman University by Insular Technologies in August 2007. In some major urban cities in the Philippines like Makati, E-Jeepneys or Electric Jeepneys are used as well as Electrical Tricycles (Rickshaws). Eagle G-Car a Philippine all-electric car was made available for purchase in the Philippines as low as $3,000-$6,000), the car is made out of fiber glass.
Finland: Basic charging infrastructure are available all over Finland, used for engine pre-warming in the cold winters. Because of its climate – cold winters and warm summers – Finland is considered a convenient "test laboratory" for electric cars and many companies have made field tests in Finland. They are also testing a kind of three-phase charging method by which electric cars can be charged in four minutes flat.
In India there are sales of Mahindra E20 Electric cars every month starting from March 2013. The 2nd generation of the E2O is expected sometime next year. An electric sedan named Mahindra Verito which is similar in size and shape to Nissan Sunny/Toyota Corolla. Since 2012 as the domestic petrol price started to rise… e-bikes have started to re-enter the Indian Market with quite a bit of local participation, unlike the earlier charge which was led by the Chinese companies. One of the reasons for the low popularity of the e-bikes was the poor quality of Chinese batteries that were used with those e-bikes. Thus the customers also lost trust thinking that the batteries in e-bikes were untrustworthy and petrol bikes were best. But now with better batteries available the EV scenario looks promising. The Government is also pushing a lot of Solar Panels on House Roof-top. This will make the market more EV friendly.
Brazil.. as of February 2013, there were only 70 electric cars registered in the country, of which, 68 are corporate cars, including 9 Nissan Leafs that are being demonstrated as taxis in São Paulo.
In May 2010 the Brazilian government put on hold a new policy to promote the introduction of electric cars, and a decision is still pending. Instead, plug-in electric cars and hybrid electric vehicles are subject to high taxes, including a 35% import tax, plus a 55% tax on industrialized products (IPI), 13% contribution to social security (PIS/COFINS), and between 12 to 18% tax on transit of goods and services (ICMS), depending on the state, adding up to more than 120%. ...!?#?@?!
According to Research and Markets, electric vehicles sales in the country are expected to reach 80,000 units annually in 2020. The research firm forecasts that the Brazilian electric vehicle market will likely be dominated by scooter and motorcycles.
Electric Cars - Now!
There is also a non-commercial electric car conversion organization called Electric Cars - Now! that converts standard Toyota Corollas into Li-ion battery-powered electric cars. As of August 2009, more than 1,700 pre-orders for conversion Toyotas have been placed. The specialty in the “Electric Cars - Now!” project is that it is an open source project: anyone can start similar production anywhere they want, the benefits for the customer being open-source spare part coding and so on. The ideas and design are freely available from the Electric Cars - Now! Organization.
Tesla Roadster Model S is the most powerful electric car... with the greatest range available in the market.
Length: 4,976 mm
Wheel Base: 2,959mm
Width: 1,963 mm
Range: 265 miles (426 km)
Price: The base Model S starts at US$ 69,900 with a 60 kWh battery pack.
Charging Time:
31 miles (50 km) restored for every hour of charging. Which turns out to be 13 hours to charge to the full 426km capacity. Charging for more than half a day is quite long. At 13 Hours to reach full charge Tesla takes the longest to reach full charge. 13 Hours of daily charging could inflate your electricity bills but then the cost of “refueling” the charge would be ¼ the cost of petrol version of similar car.
Sales: 12,700 (June 2013)
Length: 4,976 mm
Wheel Base: 2,959mm
Width: 1,963 mm
Range: 265 miles (426 km)
Price: The base Model S starts at US$ 69,900 with a 60 kWh battery pack.
Charging Time:
31 miles (50 km) restored for every hour of charging. Which turns out to be 13 hours to charge to the full 426km capacity. Charging for more than half a day is quite long. At 13 Hours to reach full charge Tesla takes the longest to reach full charge. 13 Hours of daily charging could inflate your electricity bills but then the cost of “refueling” the charge would be ¼ the cost of petrol version of similar car.
Sales: 12,700 (June 2013)
BMW i3
Has carbon-fiber reinforced plastic to improve the vehicle's energy consumption. Has option for generator that kicks in to provide the electricity when the battery level drops to a pre-specified point this extends the range to about 240 km. The i3 comes with four doors and seating for four occupants with dimensions being slightly larger than the MINI Cooper. This car is the best in the "looks" department.
Price: US$ 41,350 & Range Extender=$46,125
Length: 3,999 mm
Wheel Base: 2,570 mm
Width: 1,775 mm
Range: 130Km
Charging Time: 4Hrs
KWh: 22 kWh
Sales: Car has not yet released.
Has carbon-fiber reinforced plastic to improve the vehicle's energy consumption. Has option for generator that kicks in to provide the electricity when the battery level drops to a pre-specified point this extends the range to about 240 km. The i3 comes with four doors and seating for four occupants with dimensions being slightly larger than the MINI Cooper. This car is the best in the "looks" department.
Price: US$ 41,350 & Range Extender=$46,125
Length: 3,999 mm
Wheel Base: 2,570 mm
Width: 1,775 mm
Range: 130Km
Charging Time: 4Hrs
KWh: 22 kWh
Sales: Car has not yet released.
Ford Focus Electric
The Ford Focus Electric is a 5-door hatchback electric car. It is considered the most fuel-efficient car sold in the United States in the compact class.
Price: US$ 39,200
Length: 4,359 mm
Wheel Base: 2,649 mm
Width: 81.1 in
Range: 76 mi (122 km)
Charging Time: 4 Hrs on a 240 volt socket.
Sales:
The Ford Focus Electric is a 5-door hatchback electric car. It is considered the most fuel-efficient car sold in the United States in the compact class.
Price: US$ 39,200
Length: 4,359 mm
Wheel Base: 2,649 mm
Width: 81.1 in
Range: 76 mi (122 km)
Charging Time: 4 Hrs on a 240 volt socket.
Sales:
Chevrolet Volt - Hybrid
Volt is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. It is sold as Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand, as the Vauxhall Ampera in Great Britain and as the Opel Ampera in rest of Europe.
Price: US$ 39,145
Length: 4,498 mm
Wheel Base: 2,685 mm
Width: 1,788 mm
Range: 35 miles (56 km)
Charging Time: “Overnight Charging time” 8Hrs
Sales: 58,000 Units (Sept 2013)
Volt is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. It is sold as Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand, as the Vauxhall Ampera in Great Britain and as the Opel Ampera in rest of Europe.
Price: US$ 39,145
Length: 4,498 mm
Wheel Base: 2,685 mm
Width: 1,788 mm
Range: 35 miles (56 km)
Charging Time: “Overnight Charging time” 8Hrs
Sales: 58,000 Units (Sept 2013)
Honda Fit/Jazz EV
I love my (Petrol) Fit/Jazz and its wide panoramic glass roof… it’s a joy to drive in the rain or at night time. This glass roof is where Solar panels can be mounted. When the seats are folded the car becomes very spacious… like a Van and one can use it to camp in it. The body of the existing Petrol version of the Fit is very light and combined with an electric engine it would be something like a race car. But Fit/Jazz doesn’t take the curves quite well at speed… not like my Civic which hugs the road …maybe due to Civic’s wider body. With Fit/Jazz, one gets a distinct feel as if the car might tilt over. This feeling must be lesser in Electric version due to the weight of the battery kept near the lowest point of the car.
Price: Honda leases the Fit EV for $389 a month in a three-year lease. It's not available for sale. The vehicle's lease deal is based on an MSRP of US$ 36,625.
Length: 3,985 mm
Wheel Base: 2,450 mm
Width: 1,695 mm
Range: 76 mi (122 km)
Charging Time: 3Hrs on a 240-volt socket.
Sales: Not sold only leased… details murky…. Figures unavailable.
I love my (Petrol) Fit/Jazz and its wide panoramic glass roof… it’s a joy to drive in the rain or at night time. This glass roof is where Solar panels can be mounted. When the seats are folded the car becomes very spacious… like a Van and one can use it to camp in it. The body of the existing Petrol version of the Fit is very light and combined with an electric engine it would be something like a race car. But Fit/Jazz doesn’t take the curves quite well at speed… not like my Civic which hugs the road …maybe due to Civic’s wider body. With Fit/Jazz, one gets a distinct feel as if the car might tilt over. This feeling must be lesser in Electric version due to the weight of the battery kept near the lowest point of the car.
Price: Honda leases the Fit EV for $389 a month in a three-year lease. It's not available for sale. The vehicle's lease deal is based on an MSRP of US$ 36,625.
Length: 3,985 mm
Wheel Base: 2,450 mm
Width: 1,695 mm
Range: 76 mi (122 km)
Charging Time: 3Hrs on a 240-volt socket.
Sales: Not sold only leased… details murky…. Figures unavailable.
Toyota Prius - Hybrid
A design copy of Honda Civic The Prius Plug-in Hybrid keeps the coefficient of drag at Cd=0.25. Among the design features exclusive to the plug-in are: unique chrome grille and bumper trim, chrome door handles, unique 15-inch alloy wheels, blue-accented headlamps, a distinct tail lamp design, and a new Hybrid Synergy Drive Plug-in badge.
Price: US$ 32,000
Length: 4,460 mm
Wheel Base: 2,700 mm
Width: 1,745 mm
Range: 14 miles (23 km)
Charging Time: 1.5 hours on standard European 230V household outlet.
Sales: 35,000 units (June 2013)
A design copy of Honda Civic The Prius Plug-in Hybrid keeps the coefficient of drag at Cd=0.25. Among the design features exclusive to the plug-in are: unique chrome grille and bumper trim, chrome door handles, unique 15-inch alloy wheels, blue-accented headlamps, a distinct tail lamp design, and a new Hybrid Synergy Drive Plug-in badge.
Price: US$ 32,000
Length: 4,460 mm
Wheel Base: 2,700 mm
Width: 1,745 mm
Range: 14 miles (23 km)
Charging Time: 1.5 hours on standard European 230V household outlet.
Sales: 35,000 units (June 2013)
Nissan Leaf
A compact five-door hatchback, The Leaf is the world's best selling highway-capable all-electric car ever! The bottom of the car has aerodynamic paneling to reduce drag and improve aerodynamics as much as possible. The 2011 Leaf has a drag coefficient of Cd=0.29, which was reduced to Cd=0.28 for the 2013 model year Leaf. It has a ground clearance of 160 mm.
Price: US $28,800
Length: 4,445 mm
Wheel Base: 2,700 mm
Width: 1,770 mm
Range: 120 kms
Charging Time: 8 Hours
Sales: 83,000 units (September 2013)
A compact five-door hatchback, The Leaf is the world's best selling highway-capable all-electric car ever! The bottom of the car has aerodynamic paneling to reduce drag and improve aerodynamics as much as possible. The 2011 Leaf has a drag coefficient of Cd=0.29, which was reduced to Cd=0.28 for the 2013 model year Leaf. It has a ground clearance of 160 mm.
Price: US $28,800
Length: 4,445 mm
Wheel Base: 2,700 mm
Width: 1,770 mm
Range: 120 kms
Charging Time: 8 Hours
Sales: 83,000 units (September 2013)
Mahindra E2O - US$ 15,000 - Half the price of the cheapest Electric Car. 4 Seats & 100 Km range. It does almost the same stuff !!!
Mahindra e2o
An urban electric car hatchback the e2o is one of the most advanced cars on Indian roads, with smart-phone-controlled features, GPS navigation system and a dashboard-mounted touch screen, keyless entry, start/stop button, and regenerative braking. According to Mahindra, the car's crumple zones comply with European norms.
Price: US$ 15,000
Length: 3280 mm
Wheel Base:
Width: 1514 mm
Price: US$11,900
Range: 100km
Charging Time: 5Hrs
Sales: 200+ 2nd Generation E20 and 5,000 units of 1st Generation (Reva/G-Wiz).
An urban electric car hatchback the e2o is one of the most advanced cars on Indian roads, with smart-phone-controlled features, GPS navigation system and a dashboard-mounted touch screen, keyless entry, start/stop button, and regenerative braking. According to Mahindra, the car's crumple zones comply with European norms.
Price: US$ 15,000
Length: 3280 mm
Wheel Base:
Width: 1514 mm
Price: US$11,900
Range: 100km
Charging Time: 5Hrs
Sales: 200+ 2nd Generation E20 and 5,000 units of 1st Generation (Reva/G-Wiz).
Sorted according to Price (in US Dollars).
Sorted according to percentage of Wheelbase (distance between front wheels and rear wheels) in relation to its length. (Percentage = Wheelbase/Length x 100). E2O is not bad at all... and at that price it really is a steal. Note BMW and Nissan are at the bottom... thats a bad surprise!... :-(
Concluding Notes:
While other cars are selling more than 10 to 30 times the volume of e2O, Mahindra has not been able to convert that magic. The same is also true for the other manufacturers: They have not even launched a single EV in India. The situation for Mahindra will ease up quite a bit after they release the E2O in countries where charging infrastructure has been made available by the Government, in countries where there the cost of petrol is high and even in those countries with abundant sunshine.
What is very clear is that Mahindra E2O will have to rethink their strategy or else they could be overpowered by bigger players. Although the Toyotas and Hondas have higher price tags it has to be noted that these cars are not yet "Mass Produced"... and once they are mass produced the price could break the $20,000 barrier (a price that is equivalent to their petrol counterparts) that will be the time the small time players in the market will be squashed. Nissan Leaf has already broken $ 30,000 barrier.
I would even say that the Mahindra Verito is not the solution although it looks like a solution. Right now what Mahindra could do is to redesign their next car as a 4-Wheel Drive vehicle so that people in the villages can be able to use it too. Renault Duster is a perfect example of one such vehicle - a Sedan Car with a SUV body.
Mahindra should also start working on a quick charging infrastructure which would aid in selling more EV's.
While other cars are selling more than 10 to 30 times the volume of e2O, Mahindra has not been able to convert that magic. The same is also true for the other manufacturers: They have not even launched a single EV in India. The situation for Mahindra will ease up quite a bit after they release the E2O in countries where charging infrastructure has been made available by the Government, in countries where there the cost of petrol is high and even in those countries with abundant sunshine.
What is very clear is that Mahindra E2O will have to rethink their strategy or else they could be overpowered by bigger players. Although the Toyotas and Hondas have higher price tags it has to be noted that these cars are not yet "Mass Produced"... and once they are mass produced the price could break the $20,000 barrier (a price that is equivalent to their petrol counterparts) that will be the time the small time players in the market will be squashed. Nissan Leaf has already broken $ 30,000 barrier.
I would even say that the Mahindra Verito is not the solution although it looks like a solution. Right now what Mahindra could do is to redesign their next car as a 4-Wheel Drive vehicle so that people in the villages can be able to use it too. Renault Duster is a perfect example of one such vehicle - a Sedan Car with a SUV body.
Mahindra should also start working on a quick charging infrastructure which would aid in selling more EV's.
Note on Charging Sockets:
Please note that vehicles that charge in 5-8 hours on a 240V socket will take 16 hours on a 120V Socket.
Note on Hybrids:
We don’t recommend Hybrid for the simple reason that the user has to bear the cost of battery and petrol and you have to plug it in daily to charge the battery and drive to the Petrol station to refuel the car periodically. Also the owner of a hybrid will have to maintain the complex internal combustion engine and the battery pack. Add to this the rising cost of petrol and you will realize that this is not exactly a win-win situation. Its like going the extra mile with the existing fuel technology and bearing the increasing cost of a depleting asset. Technically Hybrid is a temporary solution and depends completely on both fuel – battery and petrol. But marketing geniuses have named it the “most fuel efficient car”… go figure!
We at PlugInIndia.com, wishes you an electric Diwali!!!
Please note that vehicles that charge in 5-8 hours on a 240V socket will take 16 hours on a 120V Socket.
Note on Hybrids:
We don’t recommend Hybrid for the simple reason that the user has to bear the cost of battery and petrol and you have to plug it in daily to charge the battery and drive to the Petrol station to refuel the car periodically. Also the owner of a hybrid will have to maintain the complex internal combustion engine and the battery pack. Add to this the rising cost of petrol and you will realize that this is not exactly a win-win situation. Its like going the extra mile with the existing fuel technology and bearing the increasing cost of a depleting asset. Technically Hybrid is a temporary solution and depends completely on both fuel – battery and petrol. But marketing geniuses have named it the “most fuel efficient car”… go figure!
We at PlugInIndia.com, wishes you an electric Diwali!!!