In line with Britain’s goal of making London the world’s Electric Vehicle capital, UK firm the Electric Car Corporation (ECC) has launched its own all-electric version of Citroën’s C1.
Called the C1 ev’ie, Electric Car Corporation’s version of the French minicar looks for all the world like a standard C1. The only visible change to the vehicle is the removal of its 1.0 litre petrol engine, with a 30kW electric motor taking its place.
Lithum-ion batteries fill the spare space under the bonnet and also where the fuel tank used to reside. The C1 ev’ie is capable of a top speed of 96km/h (60mph) and has a traveling range of between 100 and 120 kilometres. Motor Report
Costing £16,850 – almost three times the cost of the cheapest “‘ordinary” C1 – the ev’ie can be fully recharged in up to seven hours from a domestic 13-amp socket. Its makers say that a full charge will cost about 90 pence.
The ev’ie is assembled at a purpose-built factory in Flitwick, Bedfordshire, from the donor car, with more than 50 per cent of its value originating from the UK, according to the ECC.
David Martell, ECC chief executive – and founder of travel data firm Trafficmaster – said: “We believe this is the first serious alternative to a petrol or diesel car. It drives just like a petrol car and has excellent capacity for use in any town or city.” Telegraph.co.uk
The car is an electric version of the firm’s popular C1 city car. It costs £16,850 and has a range of 60 to 70 miles on a fully-charged battery.
In order to charge the vehicle, motorists can plug it into a domestic 13 amp socket – a full charge takes 7 hours and costs less than £1. Environmental Transport Association
The firm behind the car, the Bedfordshire-based Electric Car Corporation, is promoting it as an ideal vehicle for city-based commuting and is planning to produce around 500 over the next 12 months.
Motoring groups welcomed it as a significant step forward for the industry, offering drivers a safer, more conventional model of car which was more likely to entice them into switching to electric.
The company said it hopes to produce between 2000 and 4000 units in 2010, depending on demand and government support.
While a number of electric vehicles have been developed, the models currently available in the UK, such as the G Wiz, are smaller, two-seaters cars which tend not to have the same characteristics or safety standards as conventional vehicles. The Herald
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