The recent lifting of the low speed vehicle (LSV) ban in Quebec has shone the light of discovery on another electric vehicle manufacturer getting ready to go gangbusters. In Ste.-Therese, Quebec, very close to where the Chevrolet Camaro plant was once located, sits the home of Nemo. Locally designed and manufactured, their vehicle, the Must HD2 has garnered interest from 50 municipalities within "La Belle Province" as well as from individuals. Company president, Jacques Rancourt, says they've sold 15 trucks in the past week and a half since their legal status changed and now expects to move 500 units this year.

The Must HD2 sells for around $20,000, is built on an aluminum chassis and can handle a 1,000 lb payload. Being an LSV, it's limited to 25 miles an hour but has a 70 mile range. Since it's made in the North, it does has a robust heater and many options ranging from lithium ion batteries to an AM/FM radio with CD player. We think it's a pretty cool looking truck, seemingly capable of handling a range of chores and so we wish the makers of this little brute, "Bonne chance!".


[Source: Nemo / Canada.com]

Let's say that you are the enterprising sort. Let's also say that you are passionate about electric vehicle technology. You recently learned about a Chinese company that is producing what appear to be some very cool electric vehicles. Given that major OEMs in the US are not producing electric cars, and given that there appears to be a fair amount of consumer demand, you decide to take a chance. You see an opportunity and you take it. You build a company around this product and you start taking orders. There's one small problem, however. The company is not ready to ship the cars. Or there's a technological glitch. Or they're waiting for a new version of the battery. Whatever it is, your dealers are getting impatient and calling you a fraud.

I'm not sure if this was the exact situation for Michael Papp, owner of the now defunct Spark EV. Papp was recently charged and arrested for failing to deliver 14 electric cars to Electric Transportation of Arkansas and Electric Cars of Houston. Today, Papp was ordered by a Pennsylvania Court to pay $100,000 to these companies to avoid criminal charges. His lawyer says that he will pay the amount.

While I am not absolving Papp, I wish to bring attention to the day-to-day reality that characterizes many e.v. start-ups. As several electric vehicle entrepreneurs have realized, starting a car company in a field dominated by multi-billion dollar corporations is not easy. What compounds the problem further is that electric vehicle entrepreneurs are in the business of "disruptive technology." Producing and selling cars based on a new technological platform requires a lot more time, money, skill, and luck than most entrepreneurs realize when they begin their dream. Perhaps it is this lack of foresight, coupled with an overwhelming desire to get this technology on the road, that causes many companies to over-promise and under-deliver.

Thanks to tips sent by some of our readers, we learned of a new electric car company today named BG Automotive Group. We dug out our deerstalker and magnifying glass and soon found a set of footsteps in the form of comments with links back to a simple one page website promoting an ambitious-sounding program. According to the site, BG (Be Green) is planning to begin its electric-car career with neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs) this October and are now accepting $250 deposits for the airbag-equipped $15,995 cars. But that's just the beginning. "High Speed" vehicles are planned for mid-2009 and eventually the line up is meant to include minivans, trucks, buses, maintenance/utility vehicles and touring vans. We were starting to wonder if this wasn't just another Spark EV type scheme until we hit on a freshly printed article on the project.

The Philadelphia Inquirer talked with the steel wholesaling man behind the ambition, Barry D. Bernsten, on Monday and revealed the true scope of the aspirations of BG Automotive Group. They are shopping now for a 200,000 sq.ft. facility in which to begin converting the first 4,000 vehicles planned for import this year. Mr Bernsten feels that with the help of Asian auto suppliers and "improved U.S. battery technology", they should be able to bypass the large auto makers who should have been mass producing all-electrics by now. As we have seen, starting a new electric car company is not easy. We wish him luck. As for those of you considering making a purchase from BG, caveat emptor! Thanks to everyone for the tip!

[Source: Philadelphia Inquirer]

The price of gas is getting out of hand everywhere. Ok, maybe not Venezuela, where its cheaper than our bottled water at ¢15 a gallon, but almost everywhere else, it's expensive. In the Philippines its so costly ($4.50 gallon in a country where, according to the Philippine National Statistics Office, the average household income is about $4,000 USD a year) that the Philippine National Police (PNP) has started testing neighborhood electric vehicles (NEV) with the goal of putting them into regular action.

The customized vehicle can accommodate 4 adults and comes with a police light bar and "Polis" markings. There are no gears to shift, so operation is simple. With a top speed of 30 km/h (slow) they won't be involved in any high-speed chases but they're still adequate for routine patrols and providing police visibility. The force is also considering implementing bicycles.

[Source: Inquirer.net]

When we write posts for AutoblogGreen, we pretty much assume that our readers know at least a little bit about the green car world. But we're the minority - I mean, only 20 percent of the people even know about hybrid powertrains, according to one recent study - and sometimes it can be difficult to explain just what it is you're trying to drive down the road if you're going to what some might see as the extremes.

Take this story from the Coloradoan, which described what it was like for one resident of Loveland, Colorado to try and get the city to allow him to use a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) in town. When he went to the city council, the city attorney turned to the books to see what other local governments had done and discovered that, while state laws prevent NEVs on federal highways (this is a good thing), municipalities can decide whether these 25mph vehicles should be allowed on their own streets. Maybe. There's the tricky issue of whether or not NEVs could be allowed to cross state and federal highways.

With the NEV discussion going on and the issue of three-wheelers getting attention in Ohio and South Carolina - and more green car legal issues certain to flummox lawmakers - it's time to think about standardizing the laws regarding the cars we cover here on AutoblogGreen. There are enough hurdles for these vehicles to cross without bizarres laws that change from city to city. h/t to Chris!

[Source: Coloradoan]

Way back in January, rumors began swirling regarding a potential tie-up between Chrysler's GEM and India's Tata Motors. The rumored love-child was an electric version of the delivery truck known in India as the Tata Ace. Now, we have a potential price for the unit, and it sounds almost too good to be true. According to Auto Observer, the electric Ace could sell for as little as $5,000 and would meet all necessary safety regulations in the United States. We'd imagine that this vehicle would be classified as a NEV, which would limit it to twenty-five miles per hour and operation on streets with a speed limit of 35 miles per hour or less.

No details are available regarding what kind of batteries or range are available. We can see a small delivery vehicle which uses no gasoline going over rather well in dense urban areas. Sales possibilities exist in both the U.S. market as well as in India.

[Source: Auto Observer]

Vern Buchanan (R), the Congressman representing the Sarasota, FL area, is one politician who sees the "green" light. While visiting with solar and electric car maker, Cruise Car Inc, whose manufacturing and sales operation is in his district, the lawmaker made a plea for a national bipartisan effort to make the switch from fossil fuels to more environmentally-friendly energy sources. Speaking to the company's employees and assembled media, Buchanan said, "My sense is we've been misled as Americans in many ways for the last 25 years in terms of our energy and where we're going to get it. Solar, alternate energy, all that stuff is possible; it'll create jobs, it'll make a difference."

Proof of that difference was all around him. While obviously not the transportation solution for everybody, Cruise Car is doing a booming business. There's a 60 to 90 day waiting list for some of their vehicles, which can go up to 62 miles on a charge and are powered by the sun, though they can be plugged in for extra charging if necessary. The company is doubling its 10 employees this year and will be moving to a new facility (and doing more hiring) to keep up with an exponential increase in demand. Hopefully, more of our representatives will open their eyes to the many benefits of a greener economy and make the changes needed to speed things along.

[Source: Bradenton Herald]

The Daily Times of Pakistan reports that the Canadian manufacturer of Neighborhood Electric Vehicles Dynasty Electric Car Corporation has been sold to Pakistani automaker Karakoram Motors. Dynasty General Manager Danny Epp told Canadian Broadcasting that limitations on the use of NEVs on Canadian roads along with the strong Canadian dollar contributed to the decision by the owner to sell the company. Dynasty has been manufacturing thirty to forty vehicles per year. Karakoram Motors assembles and markets light duty trucks in Pakistan.

[Source: Daily Times of Pakistan]

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The Neighborhood Electric Vehicle market is not exactly huge, and there are already some established players involved: Miles, Zenn, GEM. So, what's Dymac going to do to enter this space? The answer is, well, simple.

Dymac had something like a coming out event at the AFVI Expo in Las Vegas this week, according to Tim Melland, regional distributor for Dymac Northwest. There are already around 200 of these very basic all-electric trucks, vans and shuttles in operation, but the company wanted to make an appearance at AFVI to broaden their visibility. These are bare-bones EVs. If you thought a Miles Electric Vehicle was the bare minimum of what people would settle with in an electric vehicle, you're not thinking like Dymac, which thinks that things like regenerative breaking add too much complexity and cost to the vehicle. As Melland told me, if you've taken shop class, you can fix whatever goes wrong with a Dymac vehicle and, because of the way the components are installed, it shouldn't take more than an hour to upgrade any of them. Want new batteries or want to try out a fancy new electric motor in your car? Not a problem. The simpler system means that Dymac vehicles are around $5,000 less than comparative Miles EVs (the Miles ZX40ST is $18,400)

Oh, and yes, those are solar panels on the top of the truck there. Melland said that if you start with a full battery, drive the truck ten miles and then let it sit in the sun for an hour, the battery will be back to full charge. Without any solar input, Dymac trucks have a 30 mile range.

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RTEV, the Ruff & Tuff Electric Vehicle company, is not the first to realize that a battery-powered ATV could be a good seller (we spoke with Electric Vehicle Systems about their ATEV last year). RTEV is now ready to expand into the electric recreational vehicles market with three models - the Cruiser, the 4-wheel drive Hunter, and the Workman - and has high hopes for more EVs down the road.

RTEV's three current models are all Low Speed Vehicles, which means they're OK going 25 mph on roads designated with 35 mph speed limits. Ruff & Tuff sold about 1,000 vehicles last year and will introduce electric scooters and bicycles (branded with the Wheego name) later this year. 2009 should see car-shaped Ruff & Tuff NEVs hit the market and the company is talking about "full-size, full-speed electric vehicles" in 2010. Currently, RTEV vehicles use dry cell sealed (AGM) batteries that can move the vehicles about 70 miles between charges. Check out a video of the Hunter electric ATV in action and see more details on the currently-available LSVs after the break.

GEM vehicles certainly aren't flashy. They don't go more than 25 mph, they look kind of goofy, and they're stuffed with old-fashioned lead acid batteries. In fact, GEM vehicles embody the "golf cart aesthetic" more than any other NEVs that regularly make an appearance on our little blog here. Still, there's something worth noting about Global Electric Motorcars: it's the Chrysler brand/subsidiary that has growing sales. Automotive News (subs req'd) has a good story that takes a look at how Chrysler is benefiting due to keeping the GEM subsidiary following the Daimler-Chrysler split last year. GEM has sold 37,000 Neighborhood Electric Vehicles since getting started in 1998 and, while the company doesn't announce sales figures, the company is profitable. With Chrysler trying to gin up sales through gas price gimmicks, it's good to see that these zero-emission niche vehicles are going strong. The potential for Chrysler to move GEM from the NEV category into a company that builds vehicles that are capable of higher speeds exists, particularly through Chrysler's ENVI. A GEM Zeo, anyone?

[Source: Automotive News (subs req'd)]

James Wang, director of the Intelligent Mobility Technology division of the Taiwan Automotive Research Consortium (TARC), believes that Taiwan is the perfect testing ground for small, low-speed electric vehicles. The fact that huge numbers of people live centered around large urban areas means that most people don't need to travel long distances to get what they need. Additionally, Taiwan's warm weather is favorable for batteries. So, TARC has created what it is referring to as a light-electric-vehicle (LEV). TARC envisions these two-seat vehicles, with their odd wheel arrangement of three in the rear and one in front, zipping around the urban Mecca's that make up emerging countries.

TARC's goal is to reach a range of 100 kilometers (62 miles) and a top speed of 40 miles per hour. Those targets shouldn't be too difficult to reach. The LEV is powered by four removable lithium ion batteries which can either be recharged in the vehicle or replaced when discharged. We think that the specifications are fine, but question why the design of their LEV is superior to a more conventional arrangement (Remember the Ecooter?). Regardless, the vehicle is currently being tested in in rural areas, and plans are in the works to bring it into urban settings shortly.

[Source: Wards Auto]

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It's Earth Day, so we would have been shocked to see the day slip by without a press release from Zap about their something or other. True to form, the EV company presents us with news that the Sopraffina Marketcaffe in Chicago will be using an electric Xebra truck with solar panels on the roof in its catering business (read more after the jump). Can't let the Ford Transit Connect have all the food fun, right?

The Xebra is Zap's one legitimate electric vehicle that has more than two wheels, but it does have some drawbacks compared to a "real" car because it's classified as a motorcycle. Still, for deliveries in downtown Chicago, running on electrons is a pretty good plan. Not a lot of sunlight reaches the street in the middle of the Windy City, but if you're on Lakeshore Drive, those panels should be able to suck up some juice. The three-cents-a-mile operating cost has got to be appealing to the business owners as well.

Click on the link for more images

As part of a project to create a Volkswagen concept city car for the year 2020, Stefan Mathys, Christoph Bigler, Florian Kaufmann, and Thomas Spycher came up with the City Transport Cell (CTC). Besides being completely electric, there are some novel ideas in this concept, not the least of which are the full-height doors and customizable seating-arrangement. The year 2020 is not nearly as far away as it once seemed (funny how that always happens) but we don't imagine that our roadways will be filled with anything resembling the CTC anytime soon. Still, we think that it's good for designers to push the boundaries of current car design in an effort to invent something truly revolutionary.


[Source: Stefan Mathys Design via Tuvie.com]

TechnoRide, 'the car site for tech fans,' has managed to score a Zenn electric car for review. They seem to have had a good time with the NEV, calling it "impressive." They do, however, note a few issues with the vehicle, which are to be expected, including a lack of luxury features and excessive noise. The reviewer had no problem getting up to the Zenn's max-speed of twenty-five miles per hour and mentions that it's capable of more if it weren't for that electrically-limited speed regulation system.

TechnoRide also makes mention of the solid state electrical storage system from EEStor, which we are all still waiting to hear more about. The review echoes news that the Zenn with EEStor system should be available in 2009, and we remain hopefully optimistic that this is indeed the case. We're not forgetting that we've yet to see any demonstration of the capacitor-based system.

[Source: TechnoRide]