By Samuel Ee
ELECTRIC vehicles (EVs) will start rolling silently into Singapore next year and among the most affordable could be those from Detroit Electric.
The American company makes pure electric vehicles and has partnered Malaysia's Proton to introduce more affordably priced electric cars.
Because of the technology involved, EVs are expensive to develop and produce. In recent times, prices have decreased but they are still not as competitive as those of conventional cars. It is estimated that there are only about 10,000 EVs being driven worldwide. These cars run purely on electricity, as opposed to petrol-electric hybrids like those from Toyota and Honda, which are powered by a combination of petrol engine and electric motor.
'Detroit Electric's pure electric vehicles will be introduced in Asia towards the end of 2010,' said Albert Lam, chairman and CEO of Detroit Electric. 'They will be priced between US$23,000 and US$26,000 for the city range model and between US$28,000 and US$33,000 for an extended range model.'
Mr Lam explained that the core strength of Detroit Electric's vehicle plan is its patented Magnetic Flux Motor Technology and Motor Controller Programme. This allows the vehicle to achieve a range of 180 km on a single charge for the city model and 320 km for the extended range model.
He added that the plan is to launch the vehicles in Singapore in Q3 or Q4 next year, with the first deliveries taking place in early 2011.
'We will supply 400 to 500 vehicles at this time, 30 of which will be the Lotus Elise SP1 and the rest evenly split between the two sedan models,' said Mr Lam. The former is a two-seater sports coupe based on the British marque's mid-engined model. Lotus is owned by Proton.
More interestingly, Detroit Electric's list prices are significantly lower than that of the very first EV model bound for Singapore - the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. This electric version of the Mitsubishi i minicar has an open market value of about $85,000. The OMV does not include registration taxes or the distributor's profit margin.
The i-MiEV is part of a $20 million programme to support infrastructure development and test-bed EVs in Singapore. The project is being driven by the EV Taskforce, which is co-chaired by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
The first 10 units of the i-MiEV will arrive in July, with the rest of the 50 cars to follow by end-September. They will be sold to corporate customers and although tax incentive plans have not been firmed up yet, the electric Mitsubishis may not cost much more than the OMV if registered under a special scheme for the testing of new technologies.
As for the Detroit Electric EVs, they should be subject to the usual registration taxes although they will at least qualify for the green vehicle rebate of 40 per cent of OMV.
'The strength of our vehicle is that it will be a low cost and practical solution to zero emissions motoring,' said Detroit Electric EVP Ben Boycott. 'It will not require any compromises in driving style, load capacity or function.'
Mr Boycott said his company's vehicles will also be fun to drive 'with a light and dynamic chassis combined with a very accessible performance'.
'The electric motor has maximum torque available from zero rpm and there is no need for gear changes. This will make city driving relaxing yet fun,' he said.
This article was first published in The Business Times.
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