Chery releases its first electric car
Feb 20, 2009 Auto Tech
Chery S18
Chery Motors, the largest car manufacturer from China, has unveiled the S18, an all-electric car based on its QQ2. The car can go up to 150kms on a full charge of its lithium iron phosphate batteries, that takes 4 to 6 hours, while those in hurry can opt for a quick charge in 30 minutes that gives a 85% charge.
The S18 boats of a 54 hp motor to take it up to the electrifying top speed of 120 kph.
With another Chinese manufacturer BYD already having the world’s first plug-in hybrid F3DM on sale last year and planning its own all-electric E6, buyers in China will soon be able to ‘chery’ pick from an assortment of green cars! Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: BYD, Chery, China, electric cars, S18
Chinese subsidies to promote cleaner cars
Jan 28, 2009 Auto Tech, Stars, Policy and Finance
China’s central government has decided to subsidize purchases of clean-energy vehicles for public fleets in 13 cities to help the automobile industry develop green technology, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
The trial scheme will promote the use of electric, hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles by public transport operators, taxi firms and postal and sanitary services in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. Subsidies will be based on the gap in prices between more energy-efficient vehicles and those with traditional engines. Local governments were asked to allocate money to build and maintain facilities for the green vehicles. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: China, Clean vehicles
Suntech anounces 1GW solar cell capacity
Jan 9, 2009 Green Technologies
Suntech HQ
China’s Suntech Power Holdings announced the major milestone of hitting 1 gigawatt (GW) of photovoltaic cell and module production capacity in Wuxi, nearly doubling the firm’s 2007 output of 540 megawatts. Suntech is the largest manufacturer of solar cells in the world.
Suntech also officially opened its new solar-powered headquarters building in Wuxi . It has a 1 MW, grid-connected, building-integrated solar facade, which the company said is the largest in the world. The 193,750-square-foot building uses more than 2,552 of Suntech’s Light Thru semi-transparent solar panels, and features energy-efficient building materials, geothermal temperature control, smart lighting and a water recycling system.
The company has plans to grow even bigger. Suntech started constructing in September a new 300-MW PV cell production facility in Yangzhou that’s expected to help push Suntech’s capacity to 1.4 GW by the end of this year and 2 GW by the end of 2010.
Tags: China, solar cell, Solar Energy, Suntech
First mass produced plug-in hybrid on sale — and guess what? it is from BYD, China
Dec 18, 2008 Auto Tech
BYD F3DM
While GM is still showing off its Chevy Volt prototypes, China’s BYD has gone ahead and launched the world’s first mass-produced plugin hybrid, the F3Dm. Though the design won’t win any beauty pageants, its cost of 149,800 yuan ($22,000) will surely help, when you compare it with Toyota’s Prius, which costs from 259,800 yuan.
A plug-in hybrid has an electric motor and a conventional (like gasoline) engine, just like the Toyota Prius or Honda Civic or other current hybrids on sale, but its batteries can be charged by connecting it to an electric socket at your home or office and this can be used to extend the range of the vehicle. The Chevy Volt is supposed to be a plugin hybrid, to be on sale in US from 2010, but amidst the current financial crisis, GM faces an uncertain future and has just announced temporary halt of construction at the factory scheduled to produce the Volt’s engine.
The F3Dm can run upto 100km on batteries only. It operates in three distinct modes: a battery-powered EV mode,a series-hybrid mode whereby the gas engine recharges the batteries while the electric motors drive the wheels, and a parallel-hybrid mode whereby both motor and engine drive the wheels. BYD Auto’s parent company is making lithium batteries for the car using lithium iron phosphate cathodes–a safer design than the lithium cobalt oxide cathodes used in cell-phone batteries. BYD is China’s largest maker of rechargeable batteries and it recently got investments from famed investor, Warren Buffet. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: BYD, China, hybrid, plugin hybrid
Nissan to sell electric vehicles in China from 2012
Nov 19, 2008 Auto Tech
EVs from China
Bloomberg reports that Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s third- largest automaker, intends to begin offering electric cars in China by 2012 as the country seeks to boost sales of fuel- efficient vehicles to cut pollution and oil usage.
China has cut taxes on fuel-efficient vehicles to boost sales of less-polluting cars and also plans to support local automakers’ research into alternative-energy vehicles. Chinese manufacturers have displayed electric vehicles at this year’s Paris Motor Show and one of them, BYD has even had renowned investor Warren Buffet buying its shares! Still, Chinese drivers have shunned hybrid vehicles so far, with Toyota Motor Corp.’s Prius, the bestselling model in China, racking up only 616 sales nationwide in the first nine months of the year.
Contrast this with India where government duties caused the Honda Civic Hybrid to be priced almost twice its petrol model till recently and probably dissuading Toyota from offering the Prius. Although Bangalore based Reva is the largest selling EV in UK, its design has been almost unchanged for more than a decade, with lead acid batteries (instead of more advanced nickel hydride or lithium ion ones) and questionale safety (which makes it sell the vehicle as a quadbike instead of a car, to get around safety regulations).
Tags: China, electric cars, Nissan
ENN of China secures $136 millions for new solar cell factory
Nov 8, 2008 Green Technologies
ENN Solar
Chinese thin-film solar developer ENN Solar has got funded by International Finance Corp (IFC), which is part of the World Bank, investing in developing countries. The IFC announced yesterday that it will arrange for up to $136 million in financing for the solar company, saying it’s aiming to help drive down prices for solar power with this latest deal.
ENN Solar is part of the XinAo Group, a natural gas company The company plans to use amorphous silicon at its first plant in Langfang, which will be able to pump out 60 megawatts of solar photovoltaic modules per year when it’s complete; ENN plans to eventually expand that to 500 MW of capacity.
The IFC said the equipment for ENN Solar’s plant is still being installed, and the first commercial production is scheduled for the second quarter of 2009.
So how is thin film solar cells different from traditional ones? Read on! Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: China, green energy, Solar Energy, Startups
Miles - another EV manufacturer get funding
Nov 6, 2008 Auto Tech, Green Technologies
Miles Ev
Miles Electric Vehicles, maker of low-speed electric vehicles and a forthcoming highway-speed sedan, is in the midst of raising $40 million in funds, PEHub reports.
Miles Electric Vehicles was founded in 2004 by Miles Rubin in California with a mission to rapidly develop advanced all electric vehicles to meet the needs of organizations and everyday drivers, while using no gas and producing zero tailpipe emissions.The current MILES line includes low speed all electric vehicles that produce zero tailpipe emissions and claims Stanford and Yale universities, NASA and the US Navy as fleet customers.
The current Miles range of vehicles have top speeds of upto 25 mph and range of 50 - 60 miles.These limit the practicality of these vehicles. But the Miles XS500 prototype sedan currently under development will top 80mph and travel over 120 miles on a single charge. The company outsources much of its manufacturing to China. This helps it keep its costs low.
Tags: California, China, electric cars, Miles
Walmart’s Sustainibility Summit - Beijing 2008
Oct 23, 2008 Philanthropy and Corporate Initiatives
Walmart
The company outlined its focus on areas aimed at meeting or exceeding social and environmental standards, driving innovation and efficiency and building stronger partnerships with suppliers, government and NGOs. The company also pledged to bring more environmentally sustainable products to its store shelves. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: China, green initiatives, Supply Chain, Walmart
Electric London cabs - with love, from China
Oct 20, 2008 Auto Tech, Green Technologies
London cabs
According to Financial Times, Geely, the Chinese automaker that co-owns the company that produces black London taxis, has met UK government officials about bringing electric-powered cabs to London.
Geely owns about 23 per cent of Manganese Bronze, the Coventry-based producer of black London cabs, and 51 per cent of a Shanghai-based joint venture with the UK company that will produce the cars in China starting this December. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: China, Geely, Green Cars, London cabs, UK
Electric car with solar recharging through roof - from China
Oct 17, 2008 Auto Tech, Green Technologies
Zhejiang Solar Car
A solar powered car is on sale in China! Shown at the recent Zhejiang International Bicycles and Electric-powered Cars Exhibition in Hangzhou, the vehicle is a cheap and clean way to get around. According to an engineer, the solar cells can absorb 95 percent of the solar energy coming in, although they can only convert 14 to 17 percent into electricity to recharge the batteries.Which he claims, gives it a recharging time of about 30 hours to get the maximum 150 km (90 mi) range. However, if you’re in a hurry, you can always get energy for 5 km in just one hour.
Around 10 units have been produced thus far by the Zhejiang Group. The sticker price is an incredible 38,000 yuan (US$5,560). If you think this car is familiar, that’s because it looks like a Chery QQ (which is itself a Daewoo Matiz clone.)
Tags: China, Green Cars, solar charging, Zhejiang