June 10th, 2009 Chinese Company Making 4×4 EV with 250 Miles Autonomy
Zhong Tai Electric Car - courtesy Times UK
Despite the economic downturn taking place during recent months, the Chinese auto industry prospers in areas that U.S. manufacturers, such as G.M., with a hundred years of global dominance only has small dreams (see Chevy Volt).
For example, New Power, a Chinese company, has developed an electric version of 2006 Daihatsu Terios, whose license was bought from the Japanese and adapted. Moreover, the compact 4×4 uses a revolutionary battery technology that makes a trade-off between performance and range, offering 250 miles of pure electric driving. The batteries can then be recharged in 6 hours from a normal socket, or in 2 hours from a special high power charger (probably 3-phased).
The Sunday Times was the first western publication to put New Power’s claims to the test. On first impressions the Zhong Tai looked anything but remarkable. The car’s basic bodywork and chassis are based on a 2006 Daihatsu Terios, a compact 4×4, the licence for which was bought and adapted for Chinese production, originally as a petrol car. The electric version looks identical to a conventional Terios from the outside, with the recharging point where the petrol cap should be and only the absence of an exhaust pipe giving the game away.
New Power’s EV has a 0 to 60 acceleration of about 12 seconds, which is ok for a normal car (considering the fact that most of other low-mileage EVs have much higher performance).
It nice to see electric vehicles with such a high range of autonomy hitting the streets, even if they’re in China, for the moment. 250 miles is not a short distance, and if combined with project Better Place’s demonstrated battery swapping stations, the situation is as normal as it can be if you purchase an electric car. The 75mph maximum speed is kinda unsatisfactory for some, but you can get used to it if you consider the electric motors’ torque and other advantages.
The price is expected to be somewhere around $30,000 – a net advantage over Toyota’s Prius, even if you pay $5,000 more. Production is set to start by 2011 – let’s hope they stick to their word.