Hello, hello, it's been a long time, I know. My apologies to the regular readers of this blog (hehe), but I got married in the meantime and it took a while to settle back in... well, sort of.
But the EV scene did not stand still in the meantime!! Quite the contrary, some companies have made great strides in the last 6 months. First off, Think! of Norway are feverishly working on getting their new model ready for launch. It will feature hitherto unseen performance parameters: a range of 180 kms and a top speed of 100 km/h, mostly thanks to a new battery technology developed with Tesla Motors. In other words, Think! will be offering a car to the market that can substitute traditional vehicles for the vast majority of cases, is highway capable and yet compact enough for city environments. Gone will be the days where EVs are only 2nd or 3rd vehicles in the household!
At the same time, Tesla have continued their tests and confirm the range of their Tesla Roadster to reach the aimed for 250 miles (first deliveries have moved to early 2008 however, which was not unexpected given the complex and groundbreaking technology they are working on). Oh, and by the waym the entire 2008 production is sold out, so get in line for 2009! Also, Tesla has started working on a mid-range model coming in at around $50K, a significant reduction vs. the price of the Roadster. This model is expected in 2008/2009.
But EVs are quickly gaining traction among major vehicle manufacturers as well. Mitsubishi is accelerating the development of its MiEV which it expects to launch by 2010. And Renault is reported to plan the opening of an EV plant in Israel in 2008.
All this and more should lead to a very interesting product line up by 2009/2010, with a good selection of EVs for different pruposes and tastes, that can finally fully substitute traditional gas guzzling cars! I am truely electrified!
