The Hindu : Front Page : Dutch firm plans cheap, powerful electric cars

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Wednesday, Sep 03, 2008
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Dutch firm plans cheap, powerful electric cars

It will use lithium ion batteries

Battery charging stations needed

SHAH ALAM: A Dutch company announced plans on Tuesday to produce affordable electric cars by the end of 2009, promising that they would be much more powerful than existing models and have zero emissions.

Detroit Electric is in negotiations with Malaysia’s national auto maker, Proton, to produce the car. It is also talking to a German and a U.S. 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,” Mr. 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 Ahmad Badawi drove the sedan on 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.

Mr. Lam said the car will use lithium ion batteries and a motor developed in-house. “When people tell you it [an electric car] is not practical, that it runs at a slow speed and you can’t charge it, that is not true,” Mr. Lam said at Proton’s test track in central Shah Alam city.

The sports car zoomed from zero to 100 km an hour in less than five seconds, in performance that is comparable to petrol-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 will create their own designs and market the vehicles under the Detroit Electric brand — named after a now-defunct U.S. company that produced electric cars in 1907. Lam bought the rights to the name to restore its historical legacy.

Lighter

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 (about Rs. 10.5 lakh) price tag of the car will make it more expensive than conventional vehicles in Malaysia, though the additional expense would be offset by fuel savings.

In Malaysia it will cost 3 sen (about Rs. 4.5) a kilometre, whereas a 1.6-liter car runs at 35 sen a litre at Malaysia’s current retail price of petrol, which is among the world’s lowest. The car battery will have a life span of 200,000 km.

The company is majority owned by Lam, a British citizen, and has entered into a partnership with several Dutch, American and Malaysian investors with an investment of about $300 million over the next five years. They are targeting about 30,000 vehicles worldwide within the first year, ramping up to 270,000 vehicles in the third year. The cars will have a range of about 300 km on a full charge after keeping them plugged to an ordinary electric power outlet for seven to eight hours.

Mr. Lam acknowledged that a major challenge would be to set up battery charging stations throughout the country for long-distance travel, but expressed confidence it can be done at least in Malaysia because of the government’s backing.

“It is about conviction. If you’re an early adapter, there will be some inconveniences, but I’m sure that in two to three years, there will be comprehensive infrastructure for fast charging,” he said. The Dutch government has given incentives to electric cars, including free parking. — AP

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