For years, engineers in Europe, America and Japan have struggled to achieve the perfect balance: a battery that is small and light enough to fit in a family car, yet capable of storing enough energy to keep it going for a practical range between top-ups. The Reva G-Wiz, Britain’s bestselling electric vehicle, has a range of no more than 48 miles between charges; the Smart ED, on trial in the UK, beats it by only 14 miles; and although the electric Mini claims a range of 150 miles, it is only a two-seater (the huge battery taking up the back seat), and BMW has no plans to put it into production.
New Power, by contrast, claims to have developed an electric four-seater with a range of 250 miles and plans to bring it to the UK “within the next couple of years”. Known as the Zhong Tai (the name translates roughly as “peace and safety for the people"), it has lithium-ion batteries that can be recharged in 6-8 hours from a conventional socket, or in two hours from a high-power recharging point. With a top speed of 75mph and an estimated price tag of between £16,300 and £20,500 in Britain, the Zhong Tai could be both practical and affordable enough to make drivers part with their internal combustion engines for good.
On first impressions the Zhong Tai looked anything but remarkable. The car’s basic bodywork and chassis are based on a 2006 Daihatsu Terios, a compact 4x4, the licence for which was bought and adapted for Chinese production, originally as a petrol car. The electric version looks identical to a conventional Terios from the outside, with the recharging point where the petrol cap should be and only the absence of an exhaust pipe giving the game away.
The interior feels a little dated but that reflects how much standards of comfort have advanced in the past three years. The dashboard display flashed up speed, distance travelled and the percentage charge left in the batteries — 75% when we first stepped into the car.
At New Power’s spartan headquarters, Mao Zhong, the company’s general manager, outlined how his car could “solve the emissions problems” plaguing both China — where the number of cars is predicted to hit 150m by 2020 — and the rest of the world. On paper, it seems astonishing that such a small operation, with a staff of just 30, should have produced China’s first production-ready all-electric car. But the Zhong Tai has been in development for six years, backed by Zotye, a mainstream car maker, of which New Power is a “green” subsidiary. Times Online
The EV has been in the works for 6 years now and the company believes that they are nearing production ready. Here’s how there drive went.
With the intent of pushing the car to see if the claimed 250 mile range was indeed true, the driver set out on his journey. Pushing the vehicle hard, he believes that the vehicle reaches the claimed 0-60 mph time of 12 seconds or less. When accelerating quickly from 18 to 54 mph, everything felt fine until the alarms inside the car went off and the engine shut down. A simple restart was needed and they were on their way. While trying to restart the car, someone had mistakenly touched the battery and received a jolt, but the company took care of that problem and the drive resumed.
Reaching the 250 mile ceiling would not be possible during the brief test drive, but the reviewer kept a keen eye on the charge meter. Assuming the meter was accurate, he started with about 75% percent charge, drove for 120 miles, and was left with 44% charge making it reasonable to assume the vehicle could have traveled 250 miles on a full charge.
The 250 mile claim applies only to stop and go driving. At highway speeds, the vehicle can travel 170 mile on a charge. All Cars Electric
