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03-09-2008, 10:30
Dutch firm plans cheap electric cars by 2009

Vijay Joshi I AP


SHAH ALAM, Malaysia: A Dutch-based company announced plans yesterday to produce affordable electric cars by the end of 2009, promising they will be much more powerful than existing models and have zero emissions. Detroit Electric is in negotiations with Malaysia’s national automaker, Proton, to produce the car in this Southeast Asian nation and is also talking to a German and a US carmaker, said the company’s chief executive, Albert Lam. He declined to name the companies.

“We believe in affordable electric vehicles for the public. That is our dream ... to find innovative ways to counter global warming,” Lam told a news conference before journalists test drove a sports car, a sedan and a subcompact car fitted with Detroit Electric’s technology.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi drove the sedan Sunday when he arrived at a National Day parade — which officials called a testament of the government’s commitment to finding green alternatives to tackle rising fuel prices.

Lam said the car would use lithium ion batteries and a motor developed in-house.

“When people tell you it (an electric car) runs at a slow speed and you can’t charge it, that is not true,” Lam said at Proton’s test track in central Shah Alam city.

An Associated Press journalist who drove the sports car felt it zoom from zero to 100 km per hour in less than five seconds, comparable to gasoline-powered sports cars. Most electric cars developed so far are quite a bit heavier than regular cars, weighed down by their battery and motor, which limits their acceleration.

Existing models were used for the demonstration — the sports car was a modified Lotus — but the company will create their own designs and market the vehicles under the Detroit Electric brand, named after a now-defunct US company that produced electric cars in 1907. Lam bought the rights to the name to restore its historical legacy.

Detroit Electric’s chief scientist, Frits van Breemen-Schneider, who invented the motor, said it is four to 12 times lighter than existing motors and has a much higher power-to-weight ratio.

It can produce 5 kilowatts of power per kilogram, whereas the best electric car in existence can only produce 0.25 kilowatts per kilogram, he said.

The 80,000 ringgit ($24,000) price tag of the car will be more expensive than conventional vehicles in Malaysia, though the additional expense would be offset by fuel savings.

Bron


03-09-2008, 10:50



Citaat door DjFrodo:
Dutch firm plans cheap electric cars by 2009

Vijay Joshi I AP


SHAH ALAM, Malaysia: A Dutch-based company announced plans yesterday to produce affordable electric cars by the end of 2009, promising they will be much more powerful than existing models and have zero emissions. Detroit Electric is in negotiations with Malaysia’s national automaker, Proton, to produce the car in this Southeast Asian nation and is also talking to a German and a US carmaker, said the company’s chief executive, Albert Lam. He declined to name the companies.

“We believe in affordable electric vehicles for the public. That is our dream ... to find innovative ways to counter global warming,” Lam told a news conference before journalists test drove a sports car, a sedan and a subcompact car fitted with Detroit Electric’s technology.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi drove the sedan Sunday when he arrived at a National Day parade — which officials called a testament of the government’s commitment to finding green alternatives to tackle rising fuel prices.

Lam said the car would use lithium ion batteries and a motor developed in-house.

“When people tell you it (an electric car) runs at a slow speed and you can’t charge it, that is not true,” Lam said at Proton’s test track in central Shah Alam city.

An Associated Press journalist who drove the sports car felt it zoom from zero to 100 km per hour in less than five seconds, comparable to gasoline-powered sports cars. Most electric cars developed so far are quite a bit heavier than regular cars, weighed down by their battery and motor, which limits their acceleration.

Existing models were used for the demonstration — the sports car was a modified Lotus — but the company will create their own designs and market the vehicles under the Detroit Electric brand, named after a now-defunct US company that produced electric cars in 1907. Lam bought the rights to the name to restore its historical legacy.

Detroit Electric’s chief scientist, Frits van Breemen-Schneider, who invented the motor, said it is four to 12 times lighter than existing motors and has a much higher power-to-weight ratio.

It can produce 5 kilowatts of power per kilogram, whereas the best electric car in existence can only produce 0.25 kilowatts per kilogram, he said.

The 80,000 ringgit ($24,000) price tag of the car will be more expensive than conventional vehicles in Malaysia, though the additional expense would be offset by fuel savings.

Bron



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