Toyota 4Runner 2012

Toyota 4Runner 2012

EU wide eMotion initiative to pave way for EVs

The European Commission has kicked off a 4-year cross-European initiative to promote electromobility. The 42 partners in the initiative comprising industrial companies, automobile manufacturers, utilities, municipalities, universities, and technology and research institutions will input, exchange and expand their know-how and experience related to electric vehicles in selected regions within Europe. "Electromobility will make an important contribution toward reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Green eMotion is intended to ensure the fast-track success of electric vehicles," said Siim Kallas, Vice President of the European Commission, and Commissioner responsible for Transport. The project volume has been budgeted at EUR 42 million, of which the EU will contribute as much as EUR 24 million.

The partners in the initiative are to accumulate experience with electromobility in existing and new test regions within Europe and refine the technology. Key issue is the development of European processes, standards and IT solutions that allow customers of electric vehicles easy and seamless access to charging infrastructure and related services throughout the European Union. Standardization is also the key factor for a fast and cost-efficient European rollout of electromobility. The total number of charging spots within the existing pilot regions will total more than 10,000, with nearly 1,000 to be installed in Barcelona, Madrid and Malaga, about 400 in Rome and Pisa, 3,600 in Berlin and 100 in Strasbourg. In Denmark, the country with the world's largest share of wind-based power generation, between 2,500 and 3,500 electric cars are to be put on the road over the course of this year with as many as 4,500 charging stations to be installed in Copenhagen and Bornholm. Furthermore, some 2,000 electric vehicles and approximately 3,500 charging stations are part of a nationwide rollout in Ireland.

"The local concepts applied to date, in which experience was accumulated in specific test regions, will now be bundled in cross-European trials. The aim is to pave the way for electromobility throughout Europe. This will require standards for infrastructure, networking and IT," said Heike Barlag from Siemens, who coordinates the Green eMotion project. "By bundling individual activities in a major partner initiative we're gaining momentum and transparency, and ensuring the coordinated development of electromobility." Experience with cars, buses and two-wheelers with pure electric drive systems and hybrid vehicles will be gathered in the Green eMotion project. Special aspects in some of the test regions include battery swapping and DC charging, as well as smart grid integration, cross-border traffic, different payment systems and the testing of alternative business models.

The partners in the Green eMotion Initiative include industrial companies Alstom, Better Place, Bosch, IBM, SAP and Siemens, the utilities Danish Energy Association, EDF, Endesa, Enel, ESB, Eurelectric, Iberdrola, RWE and PPC, the automobile manufacturers BMW, Daimler, Micro-Vett, Nissan and Renault, the municipalities Barcelona, Berlin, Bornholm, Copenhagen, Cork, Dublin, Malaga, Malmo and Rome, the universities and research institutions Cartif, Cidaut, DTU, ECN, ERSE, Imperial, IREC, TCD and TECNALIA, and the technology institutions DTI, fka and TÜV Nord.

EU ask FIA to set up F1-style electric car championship

Formula One's governing body has been asked by the European Commission to set up a racing championship series for electric cars.

FIA president Jean Todt said the governing body was working towards the creation of new electric car, go-kart and single-seater racing categories.

The developments could mean an F1-style electric car championship taking place on Grand Prix circuits.

'We want as soon as possible to have new categories with new energy,' Todt told the Financial Times.

Todt said that a first season for electric car racing could come as early as 2013, and added: 'As much as we can do it all over the world, we will do it.'

The new idea has been discussed by Todt and Antonio Tajani, the European Union’s industry commissioner, who wants EU member countries to increase public adoption of electric cars.
The project fits into Todt’s strategy for F1 teams and other motorsport series to embrace hybrid and electronic technology.

It is believed that he is meeting resistance from the sport's supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

Chevrolet Debut Miray AWD Hybrid concept @ Seoul Motor Show

GM Korea has unveiled the Chevrolet Miray (pronounced Mi-ray) concept at the 2011 Seoul Motor Show - a mid-electric hybrid-powered sports model.

The Miray (which means 'future' in Korean) was created to celebrate Chevrolet's centennial anniversary which takes place this year.

The concept's powertrain consists of two front-mounted electric motors, each producing 15 kW (20 bhp / 20 PS) of power for the front axle, coupled with a 1.5 liter four-cylinder turbocharged petrol unit mounted mid-rear which drives the back wheels. Current for the electric motors comes from a 1.6 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that is recharged through regenerative braking.

The Miray is capable of running on electric power alone and the petrol engine kicks in with its quick-shifting dual-clutch gearbox when extra power is needed. Chevrolet did not provide any performance or range figures for the concept.

As for the aesthetics, the design takes some cues from Chevy's heritage and was inspired by such models as the 1963 Monza SS and the 1962 Corvair Super Spyder. There's a split grille for the front fascia and sharp lines over the smooth and slightly rounded surfaces of the car's design. The body also makes use of carbon panels such as for the spoilers. The Miray is also fitted with 20 inch wheels at the front and 21-inchers at the rear.

The 'future' design is also present in the interior with its center console-mounted start button, ambient lighting and dual-cockpit design for both the driver and passenger area.

DBM Audi A2 independently tested by DEKRA confirms 714 km range

KOLIBRI batteries run by DBM Energy, the company behind the Audi A2 electric car that drove 600 km from Munich in southern Germany to Berlin on a single charge, have released details of extensive safety and independent range checks performed on their lithium-polymer based battery technology.

Tests were conducted by the BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research to confirm the battery cells meet all UN test series safety requirements.

Independent range tests were conducted at the DEKRA test center. The A2 being tested had a 62.928 kWh battery pack. The UN ECE R101 Emission of carbon dioxide and fuel consumption test confirmed a distance of 454.82 kilometers. Applied to the battery capacity used during the Munich to Berlin world record of 98.8 kWh from a 115 kWh pack, this represents a range of 714 km (446 miles) on a single charge.

While that is very impressive, if the same 115 kWh battery pack was combined with the recently announced SIM-LEI direct drive wheel motor powered EV which consumes only 77 wh/km (compared to 138 wh/km for the DBM A2) the potential range would be 1283 km or just over 800 miles on a single charge. Now that would be a game changer!

Press Release

Magna's rags-to-riches Stronach set to go electric

Frank Stronach, one of the most colorful, controversial, and accomplished businessmen in Canada, is set to turn his focus to electric vehicles after letting go of the reins at Magna International.

Magna said this week that Stronach would step down on May 4 as chairman of the auto parts company that he started as a one-man tool and die shop in a Toronto garage in 1957.

It's now a firm with 96,000 employees that expects revenues of around $27 billion this year.

Stronach, now 78, joked at Magna's 2010 annual meeting that he would never really retire, although the idea of spending more time skiing and playing tennis had its allure.

"My own personal view is that Frank's taking all of those same features (that he brought to Magna) and he's going to apply them to the electric car," said Dennis Mills, a former vice-president of Magna and chief executive of the company's real estate arm, MI Developments, where he's now vice-chairman.

"That's where his passion is. And when he has a focus, it's like a laser."

Stronach has described electric cars as "a very very top priority."

"To me it's always been amazing when we add all the gasoline in the world ... it's like the Hudson River flowing down every day, and you don't have to be a great scientist to know that that will end sooner than later," he said at the company's 2008 annual meeting.

Stronach built on that passion for electric and hybrid cars last year when he traded his controlling shares of Magna for $300 million, new equity in the company, four years of lucrative consulting fees, and control of E-Car, in which he holds a 27 percent stake and Magna holds the balance.

Magna introduced an electric car last year designed to showcase the parts and technology it could offer, and the company also helped Ford develop its Focus electric car.

ZERO TO $1.7 BILLION IN 57 YEARS

Stronach emigrated to Canada from Austria at the age of 21 with a suitcase and some pocket money.

"I experienced what it was like to be hungry, to be discriminated against and to be treated unfairly," he said.

His personal fortune is now estimated at $1.7 billion, but his first job in Canada was peeling potatoes and washing dishes in a hospital kitchen.

Over the years, Stronach prided himself on treating his workforce well, introducing profit-sharing long before it was common, and running individual plants as separate entities as a way to encourage and reward individual workers.

But he ruffled many feathers along the way, especially among shareholders who disliked his tight control of the company and scoffed at his multimillion-dollar paydays.

Complaints centered on the now-bankrupt horse racing venture Magna Entertainment, as well as failed bids to buy Chrysler in 2007 -- Stronach later said Magna "dodged a bullet" there -- and General Motors Co's Opel unit in 2009.

Magna's chateau-style headquarters is nestled amid farmland about 50 km (30 miles) north of Toronto on a sprawling estate that includes Stronach's mansion, homes for other members of his family, an 18-hole golf course and thoroughbred stables.

Stronach has been the top breeder and owner of thoroughbreds in the United States for eight years.

He recently struck a deal with MI Developments in which he gave up voting control in return for racing, gaming and other assets that once belonged to Magna Entertainment.

The assets include some of the most fabled U.S. racetracks -- Santa Anita Park, Golden Gate Fields, Gulfstream Park, Portland Meadows -- and interests in Maryland Jockey Club.

Stronach grew up in the southeastern foothills of the Austrian Alps as the son of a Communist labor activist and a factory worker. He is married with two children.

"He's still very vigorous, energetic and in good health. So he's not going to just lay back and watch his horses graze in the field," said Anthony Faria, a business professor at the University of Windsor, across the river from the U.S. auto center of Detroit.

Mitsubishi Minicab-MiEV electric vehicle prices to start at US$20,000

Mitsubishi Motors Corp said the prices of its two types of electric minivehicles for business use due to be marketed later this year will start at some 1.7 million yen (US$20,000) and 2.05 million yen ($24,000), respectively. The company began taking orders on Friday for the Minicab-MiEV based on the Minicab Van, claiming it will be the first business-use EV to be sold by a major automaker.

It set the prices on the assumption that the government program for promoting eco-friendly vehicle purchases will remain in place.

Mitsubishi Motor said it can release the Minicab-MiEV models lower-priced than its electric passenger car i-MiEV, at 2.84 million yen (US$33,750), as production of electric vehicles has increased.

The $20k priced model of the Minicab-MiEV runs a 10.5 kWh battery while the $24k has a 16 kWh, both with Toshiba's SCiB battery. 10.5 kWh gives a range of around 100 km/charge under JC08 mode conditions and 16.0 kWh a range of around 150km.