All-electric Citroën C1 ev'ie goes on sale in UK tomorrow
EV'IE - click above for more
A new, four-seat all-electric car is about to go on sale in the UK. Based on the Citroën C1, the Citroën C1 ev'ie is converted to electric power by the Electric Car Corporation Plc. ECC is accepting orders for the £16,850 vehicle starting tomorrow. What do you get for your hard earned pounds? A driving range of between 60 and 70 miles and a top speed of 60 mph. A full charge takes about 6-7 hours from a standard domestic 13 amp socket and costs 90p. Those numbers should appeal to at least 500 people in the next year - that's the amount that ECC expects to build in the coming 12 months, with a production conversion schedule of between 2,000 and 4,000 vehicles in 2010.
The ECC is made up of British auto industry veterans, including people who have worked at Ricardo, Jaguar and Ford. Details after the jump.
Gallery: ECC's Citroen C1 ev'i1
[Source: ECC]
PRESS RELEASE:
The Electric Car Corporation Plc launches the Citroën C1 ev'ie
The UK's first 4 seater 'all electric' production car
The Electric Car Corporation Plc (ECC) announces the launch of the UK's first 4 seater, 'all electric' production car, which is available to buy today.
The launch coincides with the Government's announcement to support and subsidise electric car use and their commitment to make the UK 'a world leader' in producing and exporting electric cars. This is further supported by the London Mayor, Boris Johnson, who has announced his plan to introduce 25,000 'juice points' (charging stations), for electric cars throughout the city.
Called the Citroën C1 'ev'ie', this is the first all electric, 4 seater car, to offer the purchaser the comfort, performance and a full range of standard safety features expected from a petrol car. With a range of 60-70 miles when fully charged and a top speed of around 60mph, it provides the driver with a pleasant and completely "normal", yet silent, driving experience, but at a fraction of the running costs.
The C1 ev'ie can be fully charged in 6-7 hours from a domestic 13 amp socket at a cost of around 90p, making it an ideal city car for either professional or domestic use.
The Citroën C1 ev'ie is assembled in the UK from the donor car. Over 50% of the value of the car originates from the UK assembly, creating UK employment and a technology leadership in electric vehicle production. ECC expects to produce around 500 C1 ev'ies over the next 12 months, rising to between 2,000 and 4,000 units in 2010, dependant upon demand and government support.
Xavier Duchemin, Managing Director of Citroën UK commented, "We are committed to providing greener alternatives for motorists and are delighted to be supplying ECC with C1s for this exciting project."
David Martell, Chief Executive, ECC plc, added, "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 in the UK".... he continued ..."the key to building a successful electric car is an efficient battery management system (BMS). ECC has developed an advanced and sophisticated system, which when coupled with regenerative breaking, can provide the driver with much greater range and better performance."
The C1 ev'ie is way ahead of other electric cars having excellent functionality, performance and refinement and is available to buy today. Interest in the C1 ev'ie is expected to be high.
It is priced at £16,850 and is available directly from ECC (www.eccplc.com).
About ECC (The Electric Car Corporation Plc):-
The Electric Car Corporation Plc is a UK company run by a team with years of experience from the British motor industry, telematics and business arenas. The company has a sales office in Park Lane, London and an electric vehicle assembly facility in Bedfordshire.
The Board:-
David Martell
Successful entrepreneur, founder of Trafficmaster Plc. Vastly experienced in government negotiations, infrastructure projects, and a holder of numerous patents.
Jeff Solomon
Former Technical Director of Trafficmaster Plc. 20 years experience in telematics and the motor industry. Co-Designer of PTFM with David Martell.
Lord Beaverbrook
Former Conservative Party Whip and Party Treasurer. Former Chairman of Ventech Healthcare Corporation.
Christopher Ross
Deputy Chairman of Manganese Bronze. Former Chief Executive of Ricardo Plc and Wagon Automotive Plc.
Richard Wright
Former Sales Director of Ford Motor Company. Former Director of Jaguar European Operations.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tohe 7:50PM (4/29/2009)
This car strikes the right balance of components and performance. I'm sure they could have reached 100mph / 100 miles range, but why do that, when you can spare your prospect costumers the extra cost? There are no more excuses not to go electric in the UK. Now if this would only make it across the pond.
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EV-1 9:43PM (4/29/2009)
Ahhhh !!!!! :D !
There it is !!
I've spoken about, and wished for that little gem as an ideal EV from the beginning !
The C1's got a form factor that's mindboggling ! Talk about smart space ingenuity :) !
And on top of the 5-door matchbox layout, it is very (VERY) stylish - with clean lines
and bold design !
Cute, extremely practical and versatile, stylish, quiet AND economical.
Gimme gimme !
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David Robison 1:56AM (4/30/2009)
Now, if they can just make it look like a classic DS!
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why not the LS2LS7? 2:22AM (4/30/2009)
Another conversion of the sort that has been possible for two decades at least. With limited range as usual.
Still, I'm very interested in seeing what happens with these conversions (including the Zero below). If enough of these get out there and drive up demand for charging stations around town, it could get a large number of people in London interested in electric city cars.
60 mile range isn't so bad if you can charge at work or other places during the day.
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Noz 2:28AM (4/30/2009)
Only 500 people? I think ALOT more people could easily make do with a car like this...it's all I'd need.
Why the hell can't Honda make the Fit a car like this? What the hell is taking so long for these idiots?
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Aloysius Vampa 7:40PM (5/01/2009)
Hey.
In case you didn't know, automotive engineering is difficult. It's not like Legos.
Noz 8:34PM (5/01/2009)
You don't say...genius. They sure can make a hybrid SUV in a hurry can't they.
Aloysius Vampa 8:46PM (5/01/2009)
Honda has a hybrid SUV? No way!
Noz 1:52AM (5/06/2009)
Honda doesn't but GM does...they made all their big SUV's hybrids before you could change your panties...too bad they couldn't do that to their smaller cars because you know...the engineering is so challenging and all.
Andy 3:05AM (4/30/2009)
Good proposal, I wish them well.
If this sells and they achieve the economies of scale they will need a few more arrows in the quiver to stay in the game.
1) "up sell" to higher specification models. e.g. 100/100 mph/range
2) Increase specifications, but keep same price point to stay competitive with new entry models (e.g. iMIEV.)
It looks so easy it makes you wonder what's been going going through the heads of the bozo's at the majors. They are probably just playing a little game I call "unspoken cartel". (If nobody needs to, don't rock the boat just for the benefit of consumers )
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Mattias 4:48AM (4/30/2009)
You do not want to go 100mph in a Citroen C1. It is a nice car, but comfort ends somewhere around 90mph. OK, 60mph underlines that this car is targeted at city use, but 70 or 75mph would greatly expand its use to commuting those short autobahn distances many people do have.
Dave 3:19AM (4/30/2009)
At $25k USD, it's just about the right price to sell a good quantity of them.
70mph capability would be very welcome in the US.
Range is adequate - it would be great if the battery pack could be upgraded later as technology improves/gets cheaper.
Seems like it's a $15k car with a $10k battery pack?
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JennyB 5:13AM (4/30/2009)
Great step forward at last, but the charging infrastruture needs more than 'encouragement' for wider use and should be part of our national transport strategy - ooer, I forgot, we don't have one that's sane, joined up and for the benifit of Joe Public. Any green polititians out there want to get this going?
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gorr 8:55AM (4/30/2009)
This is a hypermiling machine only. It's build-in inside out that way. At least they could have included a small gasoline battery recharger and performance enhancer.
This is a product of goverment and big-oil to impede any energy to anyone.
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paulwesterberg 11:09AM (4/30/2009)
This is a product of big oil!? You are the one that wants to put a heavy inefficient gas motor in it.
Jon 11:58AM (4/30/2009)
Top speed 60 mph? I know this car is targeted at city use but sometimes it's much quicker to take the motorway a couple of miles than struggle through city-centre traffic and roadworks. I don't think this will sell well until it can at least meet the maximum speed limit in the UK.
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Michael Travaline 10:46PM (5/01/2009)
Not all that glitters is GOLD - Might be worth checking this site for some input
www.aminorjourney.com
I am in Canada anxiously awaiting for the department of transportation to allow EVs on our streets beyond the ones in gated communities and private properties...these vechiles have restrictive speed capabilities...
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sallinger 2:05PM (5/03/2009)
The photos on their website are fake and this car is a registered petrol vehicle. See;
http://www.aminorjourney.com/tag/hype/
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