Who revived the electric car?

A special report from the EVS23 Electric Vehicle Symposium

The trend is clear: All the electric vehicles (EV) that emerged in the last decade and a half have vanished. The Ford Ranger EV, General Motors EV1, Toyota RAV4 EV, and others are all gone. The disappearance of such promising vehicles inspired the film "Who Killed the Electric Car?" Well, they're not dead, yet.

At the EVS23 Electric Vehicle Symposium I attended in Anaheim, CA in early December, I drove a few upcoming electric cars. Some were clunky, slow and vulnerable and didn't seem more advanced than other attempts we sampled a decade ago. However, two of them really stood out as viable vehicles in terms of performance and practicality. The price, however, could prove prohibitive.

The eBox by AC propulsion
The eBox is a previous-generation Scion xB that's gutted to rid itself of the original engine and transmission. It's converted by a company called AC Propulsion and uses the same technology found in the Tesla roadster. The eBox uses an electric direct-drive system, so there's no need for a shifter. Instead, there's a controller that interfaces with a special display on top of the steering column. Regenerative braking - the capture of braking energy that is channeled through the motor to recharge the batteries - can be adjusted.  Under the front seats resides a 400-volt lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery pack. It has a 120-mile range and takes two hours to charge through a 220-volt outlet; hooking it up to a regular household 110-volt outlet doubles the charge time.

On the road, the eBox feels quick and quiet. The company says it will reach 60 mph in seven seconds and has a top speed of 100 mph. In the most aggressive regenerative braking setting, decelerating takes place by lifting off the throttle, which I found to be quite abrupt. With practice, you can actually drive the car without using the brakes. With the conversion adding a whopping 600 pounds to the vehicle, you'd think that the ride and handling might be somewhat challenged. AC Propulsion President Tom Gage says that spacers have been added to the springs and the tire pressure was increased, but acknowledges that even with two passengers on board, the load exceeds the gross vehicle weight limit of the xB (a mere 825 pounds). However, the xB's stiff suspension seems to pull it off. The eBox costs $55,000, not including the Scion xB.

Phoenix SUT
This odd-looking compact pickup is actually a Korean model called the Ssanyong Actyon that's sold outside of North America. It's roughly the size of a Toyota Tacoma and will be offered for sale here starting in spring 2008 through a company called Phoenix Motorcars that converts it into electrical vehicle. It's intended for fleet buyers. Another version, converted by a company called Boshart Electric Vehicles, is intended only for low-speed use, such as patrolling malls and the like.

Under the Phoenix's truck bed resides a tray that contains a 435-volt lithium-titanate battery. This type is the next generation of the Li-Ion and is said to be more advanced, especially in withstanding cold and hot temperatures. It will be warranted for 250,000 miles or 12 years. It has a claimed range of 130 miles. The claimed consumption is 320 watts per mile. A full recharge takes 12 hours through a regular household 110V outlet, but there's a ten minute rapid recharge capability using a special industrial charger.

On the road, this truck felt very responsive and quiet. The 405 ft-lb of torque launches the 4,600-pound truck decisively; it seems like it could lend itself to towing. I did not experience the truck's claimed 95 mph top speed. The truck will be offered with a 268 hp electric motor. The company intends to use the four-wheel-drive version of the truck minus the live rear axle and propshaft to better utilize the space between the frame rails and the bed for the battery tray. This gives the vehicle front-wheel-drive as well as the electric powertrain - most unique combination for a pickup.

The price starts at $47,500 for the truck, or $49,000 for the SUV version that will follow. So far, the company has orders from Pacific Gas, the City of Sacramento, and the Port of Los Angeles.

After seemingly reaching a dead end, EVs might be making a comeback... albeit in very limited numbers and at enormous cost. For now, it looks like these vehicles will be sold mostly for commercial and fleet purposes, where the vehicles follow a prescribed route and can be charged overnight. Still, it's nice to see the technology evolving. Such development could benefit all who hope for cleaner air, sustained mobility, and less dependence on foreign oil.

Updated 12/14/07

—Gabe Shenhar

Discuss alternative-fuel vehicles in the forums.

Comments

[IFCAR]

What were your driving impressions of the non-electric components of the Ssangyong truck? How does it compare to pickups sold here?

[AustinCarGuy]

I also attended the EVS-23 (the 23rd Electric Vehicle Symposium) in Anaheim, CA. Here are some of my impressions:
- While some may strenuously desire to have cars without any Internal Combustion Engine, the battery technology has now progressed sufficiently to enable PHEVs (Plug-In Hybrids/E-REVS Extended Range Electric Vehicles).. but not enough to enable mass market purely electric vehicles with consumers' "Range Anxiety" and comfort/feature requirements addressed. With E-REVs, the battery can be downsized to still provide a very effective range (up to 40 miles on the Chevy Volt, for example) which will cover 70%+ of most commuter's required driving requirements while in pure EV mode. A downsized battery reduces weight and cost in order to keep the final price of the vehicle in a range that can have mass market viability. In order to have a meaningful effect on CO2 emissions, oil imports, & energy security these PHEVs/E-REVs need to be mass market viable.
..and as much as I like the Tesla EV Roadster, $98,000 is not mass market viable...
- Real progress is being made on PHEVs/E-REVs (plug-in hybrids & extended range electric vehicles)...GM appears to be leading the way. GM is investing heavily in developing the Saturn Vue Greenline PHEV (2009) and the Chevy Volt E-REV (2010). These projects are real and have hundreds of engineers working on them. Ford is working on the Escape PHEV. Toyota is tight-lipped about their future PHEV. It's clear that they are working on an update to the Prius.. but unclear how serious they are about a PHEV... sadly, Toyota seems very timid and uncommitted to PHEVs. GM & Ford/Volvo seem to be much more aggressive in their investments and dedication to the concept.
- Even though Honda introduced the first HEV to the US market with the Insight, they are MIA (Missing In Action) on the PHEV front. They showed a beautiful FCX Clarity FCV on the floor of the show. But, for such a very capable engineering organization, Honda seems bafflingly behind the times when it comes to recognizing the positive near term viability of PHEVs and the serious impediments to mass deployment of Hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles (Well-to-wheels efficiency, costs, H2 distribution & retail pumps, Fuel Cell stack platinum/costs/durability).
Perhaps Honda does not have a member of their keiretsu who has capable enough Lithium battery technology or their management is too wed to the Internal Combustion Engine.

[Jim Dale]

AustinCarGuy,

Are you unaware of the Phoenix Motorcars BEVs?

These 4-door pickups can haul 5 people and a piane 100 MPH down the highway, go 0 to 60 in 10 seconds, and travel 130 miles on a 10-minute charge (260 miles with the later NanoSafe-II batteries). Fully charging them at home (on a 220V) would take longer, but only cost you about $3.

The internal combustion engine, OPEC, etc. will become things of the past before we know it. (Good riddance!) The cost of new solar panels is miniscule. We will soon rid ouselves of dependenc on any sort of fuels. As soon as we get our act together, we have a surplus of energy from all natural sources (solar, wind, hydro, even one that removes nuclear waste).

Gabe Shenhar,

I've done business with the Phoenix founders since before Phoenix existed (before 2001) and been one of their private investor for over 5 years. I have followed them closely all this time and driven their BEV SUT.

Please explain why you stated that "there's a ten minute 'rapid recharge' that entails replacing the battery tray under the bed with a new one".

With the proper 480v "supercharger", the NanoSafe batteries in the Phoenix SUT can be charged in ten minutes. None of this "replacing the battery tray". Those batteries weigh 900 lbs and hold enough energy to drive you over a hundred miles. I can't see Aunt Matilda replacing these any mmore than the engine & transmission.

When they have the prototypes out for demos, they can't be dragging around a $100K supercharger (nor can they easily find a 480V supply). I suspect you may have seen them replacing the tray of batteries on that demo trip, but that's n/a for the production version, which will require the batteries to be safely packed away out of the reach of sweaty human hands and water from salted roads.

The Phoenix SUTs with the Altair NanoSafe batteries are about to play a huge part in saving this planet.

[AustinCarGuy]

"Are you unaware of the Phoenix Motorcars BEVs?"
=> Yes, I saw them at EVS-23 and I hope they do very well..

"These 4-door pickups can haul 5 people and a piane (piano?) 100 MPH down the highway, go 0 to 60 in 10 seconds, and travel 130 miles on a 10-minute charge (260 miles with the later NanoSafe-II batteries). Fully charging them at home (on a 220V) would take longer, but only cost you about $3."

=> I talked to 2 BEV pickup firms there.. I think they were both using non-US importing platforms from Korea.. I couldn't get pricing information from either. Given batteries are going to be a very substantial determinant of the final price and overall durability of the vehicles, I'm simply withholding any judgements
on these vehicles for a while.. I hope they establish a beachhead in the market and succeed. But from an overall cost, durability, and consumer acceptance standpoint (addressing the Range Anxiety concern) PHEVs offer the best chance of mass scale acceptance of electrified vehicles. To reduce overall CO2 emissions, oil imports, energy in-security we need to have millions of electrified vehicles on the road. The way to make this happen is to get the overall price in a $20k-$30k price envelope, address range anxiety, and ensure durability. Pretty much everyone loves the Tesla but how many folks can afford $98k?.. so the total number of Telsa will be small and the overall benefit from their emissions reductions can be negatively offset by a modest number of old inefficient lawnmowers being used.
Could you provide the pricing for the Phoenix, the warranty (particularly on the batteries?), the availability to consumers (vs Fleets?)

Here's the link to an informative California Air Resource Board Report.

http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/zevprog/zevreview/zev_review_staffreport.pdf

[Marc Geller]

Hey, I'm still driving one of those cars you say "are all gone." Yes the auto makers stopped making electric cars, and most from the 90s were lease only and confiscated. But some, especially the Toyota RAV4 EVs, remain on the road. In fact about 850 RAV4 EVs are still in service. About 350 in private hands, like mine. About 500 are still in fleets, such as Southern California Edison, San Francisco Sheriff Dept,, Lodi's electric utility, etc, providing uninterrupted, petroleum-free driving, day in and day out, on their original battery packs. A number of cars have over 100,000 miles on them!! Check out Plug In America's website (http://www.pluginamerica.org), and evnut.com to find out about the great electric cars still on the road.

[Milo Fonbil]

It's pretty clear that GM wants the EV gone. But why??? The EV1 was nothing like a slow, lumbering golf card. GM is now threatening to sue Western Washington University about having brought their EV1 back to life in order to modify it to hybrid as part of a Vehicle Research Institute project.

[James]

Car companies killed their own electric cars after one generation, and have failed to develop new ones. Why? Because, in a business sense, that would be shooting themselves in the foot.

They know we're running out of oil. They how to build an all-electric car, but prefer a vehicle with a status-quo business model. Hydrogen fuel cells, for instance, require "gas stations" and mechanics to fix the complicated engine. With these beauties, after the initial sale, GM can sell their parts as the complicated engine breaks down, and BP can sell you specialized fuel. Not so with electrics. Electric cars, with their simple motors and three-prong plugs, seem suicidal to these businessmen.

Remember the Red Car? GM bought a public transit system and shut it down. Why?

If GM, Toyota, BP, and Exxon can stall the electric car long enough to get their fuel-cell status quo protection in place, they will accomplish their goal. On the other hand, if the electric car does take off, they've got the blueprints of the EV1 on the shelf.

So my guess is that they are just stalling, and publishing glowing reports on hydrogen fuel cells, working like mad to make it a reality, and ignoring the less lucrative, more obvious answer: electric cars.