Chery unveils the S18, its first electric car
China's largest independent automaker, Chery, has "unveiled" their first electric car. Called the S18, the small 4 door appears to be the a battery-operated version of the S18/QQ2 first shown to the world at last year's Beijing Auto Show. The in-house design features lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries with enough range to roll up to 150 km (93 miles), while its 336 volt system can allow the 40 kW (53.64 hp) motor to take it up to the dizzying speed of 120 kph (75 mph). Plugged into a 220V outlet, it can charge in 4 to 6 hours or hooked up to a "fast-charger" it can fill to 85 per cent of its capacity in 30 minutes. As to whether it will actually go into production, Chery hasn't yet said but it wouldn't surprise us. BYD, its well known competitor, will begin selling its all-electric E6 later this year.
[Source: Reuters / Chery via Green Car Congress]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ziv 11:07AM (3/20/2009)
A range limited BEV may not appeal to most, or work that well for 80% of car buyers, but the 10-20% of drivers who drive more than 100 miles infrequently enough may find a car like this to work very well for them. Bring on the BEV's, it won't work for me but any car that relies on domestically produced electricity, even if the car is manufactured in China, is a car that helps us kick our addiction to foreign oil.
I still regret that Ford didn't boost the the electrical motor's power on the Escape, though they did use a larger battery than the original, smaller NiMh, replacing it with a larger 10kw battery that Fords test PHEV uses which gets the results Wiki mentions below...
If the vehicle uses its engine and is running in traditional hybrid mode, fuel economy is rated at 88 miles per U.S. gallon (2.7 L/100 km; 106 mpg-imp) in the city and 50 miles per U.S. gallon (4.7 L/100 km; 60 mpg-imp) on the highway.
Imagine the Ford Escape with a 100 kW motor and a small 90 hp ICE to help boost the total horsepower to the same 200 hp, but change the primary power source to the electric motor and use the ICE only when accelerating rapidly or when hauling 5 adults at speed or pulling a trailer. Admittedly, after the battery exhausted itself in 30 or 40 miles, your Escape would drive like an anemic VW Vanagon, unless the ICE could recharge the battery like the Volt, but maybe with a simpler battery pack management system...
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versionII 4:45PM (2/19/2009)
Ew, what happens if this toy car gets rear ended.
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TX CHL Instructor 10:18AM (2/20/2009)
I wouldn't mind having a vehicle like this, provided it didn't cost an arm and a leg -- and it can do acceptably well in a standard US crash test. I could do over 95% of my driving in a BEV with a range over 60 miles, and then use my 36mpg Acura for the long road trips.
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www.chl-tx.com
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Simon 11:43AM (2/20/2009)
Can't Chinese auto companies come up with better names for their cars? Five babies? WTF does that mean?
BTW, you know why this car won't appeal to Chinese? Because it's not like that electricity is much cheaper than gas there.
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zlsong 10:32PM (2/22/2009)
This car should do well in cities. I live in Beijing and most people's daily commute distance is less than 50km (30mi). If govt really is subsidizing it as some reports say, I wouldn't mind buying one. However, not sure how would that help the traffic jams in this city and the quality of the car is yet to be seen.
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