Electric Scooter soon in Sabah

Quite recently I posted an article about Toyota's effort to encourage the use of clean vehicles in Japan, in particular electric vehicles.

The electric vehicle is called i-Road and rent starts at 200 Yen (about RM6.60) for the first 10 minutes then 20 Yen for every minute after that. Renting the car for an hour would cost 1,200 Yen (US$12) or about RM40.

With a similar idea, a local electric vehicle company has introduced its environmentally friendly Electric Scooter or e-Scooter to the public.


Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Datuk Ewon Ebin (right) taking a test ride on the e-Scooter.


Coming soon to Sabah

EcLiMO Sdn Bhd, a peninsula-based company will be expanding its business to Sabah in the near future and introducing the electric vehicle to consumers here.

The company invested RM27 million in the EV project and currently, it has leased 600 units of its e-Scooter to several fast food chain outlets such  as KFC, McDonald's and Pizza Hut among others for them to use in their daily dealings.

Electric vehicle   : ECLIMO ES11
Motor power       : 5 kW max
Transmission      : 100% direct drive (zero loss)

Energy  storage  : Lithium battery

Charging time     : 3 hours to fully charge
Max. Speed        : 80 km/h

Distance range   : up to 100 km per full charge

TheGreenMechanics: The idea is not new. During our trip to Shanghai last year a lot of the city dwellers use electric bikes and bicycles to commute and one can see thousands of them parked by the roadside.

Maybe it is not our idea of commuting here in Malaysia.

Commercial electric vehicles pioneer, GreenWay hit new landmark

One of the reasons people are slow in adopting or using electric vehicles (EV) is that the charging infrastructure does not come with the vehicle. Typical EV can travel only around 300 km before needing a recharge.

Also, the time needed to fully recharge can be as long as 3 hours. Add these things together and you get a hassleful experience of owning a vehicle.

What if you don't need to recharge but just swap the drained battery at any of the recharging points? And, on top of that you are given the option to lease rather than purchasing the vehicle.

This is exactly what Slovakia's EV pioneer GreenWay is offering to consumers particularly commercial entities.  And GreenWay said it has achieved another milestone in terms of number of miles travelled for the past 6 months which is the world's furthest.


Electric vehicle leasing company GreenWay operates a string of charging stations in Slovakia and neighbouring countries. Photo credit: GreenWay


Leased electric vehicle travelled over 38,000 km a month, more than any other EVs in the world

Slovakian commercial electric vehicle pioneer GreenWay claims the two vans it leased to its first customer in May have since travelled further in a six-month period than any other electric vehicles.

GreenWay, which supplies fully electric vans for business-to-business (B2B) customers in return for a monthly fee, says the vans it leased to pharmaceuticals and medical supplies company Med-art travelled an average of 38,502 km – the equivalent of a round-the-world trip – in six months.

The EV company operates a string of battery replacement stations ensuring drained batteries can be replaced instantly rather than having to be recharged to keep vehicles on the move.

GreenWay says Med-art reported the running costs of its EVs were 'significantly lower' than those of its conventional vehicles because of the long distances travelled – one of the reasons GreenWay targets B2B clients with its 40,000 km and 70,000 km packages.

Med-art also reported no interruption to vehicle availability during the six-month period, proving the vans' reliability, according to GreenWay.

According to GreenWay's website, there are 10 battery changing stations across Slovakia as well as in Budapest, Hungary; Brno, in the Czech Republic; and Vleden, Austria, with a further six Slovakian locations in the pipeline.


TheGreenMechanics: If you think that using electric vehicle is not viable yet, leasing maybe a good start. Leasing will hedge you against the risk of inability to make full use of the vehicle due to slow adaptation and lack of infrastructure. Good for commercial use.

Question is, who will want to start that venture in Malaysia.


Source: pv-magazine

Honda introduces the MC-beta, a two-seater tiny electric car

Jumping on the bandwagon of tiny electric vehicles, Honda has unveiled its very own miniature car called the MC-β, pronounced MC-beta. Other recent small EVs were the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and the SmartCar ForTwo.


This certainly is meant for eco-friendly short trips around the city.


It looks to be a refinement of the company's line of micro commuters and is designed to comply with the "micro-sized mobility products" category that's currently the trend in Japan and Europe.

The MC-beta is built on top of a lightweight yet rigid frame and only measures 2,495mm x 1,280mm x 1,545mm, which is about 90cm shorter than the typical mini car.

To compare, the locally produced mini car, the Perodua Kancil measures 3,395mm in overall length, 900 mm longer than the MC-beta.

The release states it has a 3.3 meter minimum turning radius, a maximum range of 80km or so when fully charged, and speeds of more than 70 km/h. As for charging time, the teensy quadricycle takes less than 7 hours to get fully juiced with a 100V outlet and less than 3 hours when plugged to a 200V socket.

Field tests will begin in Japan this month, so we wouldn't expect this in showrooms any time soon. Sure, you won't have room for too much luggage, but at least the MC-beta won't have to resort to funky folding techniques to park in a tight spot.


How much?

No indication yet but netizens are already debating and arguing that, anything more than $20,000 (RM63,600) is prohibitively expensive. The Mitsubishi i-MiEV starts at $21,625 in the US, but it sells for RM136,000 (approx. $42,760) in Malaysia.

For now, let's treat this news piece as "FYI only".

Source: Engadget

If you don't want to buy an Electric Car, you can choose to rent one!

Currently there are only two Electric Vehicle brands available in Malaysia - the Mitsubishi iMiEV which sells for RM136,000 and the Nissan Leaf. In fact, the Leaf is not even available for purchase yet as Nissan is keep dragging on the launch date for Malaysia.

The pricing issue must be the reason for the delay. Anyway, Cars Bikes Trucks speculates that the Leaf could soon be launched at RM150,000 price tag.


Don't buy it, rent it

In Japan, there is this program by Toyota that enables you to rent rather than buy a vehicle. And more recently, Toyota have added a new concept electric vehicle to its Harmonious Mobility Network (Hamo) car sharing project, which lets users rent them by the minute.

The electric vehicle is called i-Road and rent starts at 200 Yen (about RM6.60) for the first 10 minutes then 20 Yen for every minute after that. Renting the car for an hour would cost 1,200 Yen (US$12) or about RM40.

That reminds me of the RM3.00 for few minutes you pay for the kids to rent/ride the animal-shaped toy cars at the hyper malls.


No way. There is no chance you will get to rent this Leaf  'by the minute' in Malaysia. Image: CBT



Image grab the i-Road from the video of the expo in Japan. Not really a 'car', more like a 3-wheeled bike. Watch it here. Users get to rent this car for 1,200 Yen an hour.


The concept vehicle, the i-Road

The new concept vehicle weighs 300kg and can fit two passengers. It has dual 2kW motors that can propel the car at speeds up to 45 kilometers per hour for up to 50 kilometers on a single charge of its lithium-ion battery.

Those intending to rent it can make reservation online through smartphones. Car availability can be viewed in real time, too.


TheGreenMechanics: With price tag of electric vehicle so high and with many low to middle-income earners likely to give this a pass, it is a good idea to put up similar program in Malaysia. The big cities are the better places to start of with.

Then we, the adult, can rent and ride these expensive 'toys' like the kids playing with the toy-cars at the shopping malls.

Why not? Treat this as EV awareness program.

New Chevrolet Spark electric car to cost 38% less than sibling Volt

This is a welcomed piece of news for Electric Vehicle fans and tree huggers.

In a move to make electric cars more affordable to the masses, GM came out with a relatively cheap Chevrolet Spark costing as low as $19,995 or RM60,675 when converted dollar-to-dollar.

The recently launched electric car, Mitsubishi i-MiEV cost Malaysian consumers RM139,888 to own one! Chevrolet is quite aggressive in the local market and the Chevy Spark is expected to land on our shore at a later date. But a price tag of twice of those that in the US - say RM121,350 - would be ridiculously expensive.


Reuters file pic: A model sits in a new Chevrolet Spark auto-transmission during its launch in Hanoi, May 20, 2013. The Chevrolet Spark all-electric subcompact car will cost 38% less than its larger sibling, the hybrid Volt.


GM Chevy Spark electric car's price 38 percent less than sibling hybrid Volt's

DETROIT, May 23 — The Chevrolet Spark all-electric subcompact car will cost US buyers as much as 38 per cent less than what it takes to buy its larger sibling, the hybrid Volt, General Motors Co said today.

The 2014 Spark EV, which goes on sale next month in California and Oregon, will sell for as low as US$19,995 after accounting for the full federal tax credit of US$7,500, GM said. The larger Chevy Volt, which was introduced in the fall of 2010, sells for about US$32,500 after the tax credit.

“The Chevrolet Spark EV is the most efficient — and now one of the most affordable — EVs you can buy,” Chris Perry, GM’s vice-president of Chevrolet marketing, said in a statement.

GM has made rolling out cars with electrical technology — including its eAssist system that boosts fuel efficiency in gasoline-powered cars — as a central part of its global strategy.

The US automaker is aiming by 2017 to build up to 500,000 vehicles a year that include some form of electric engine power, including cars like the Spark EV, the Volt and those with eAssist.



Reference: SRN News