What's AC Propulsion up to? Chery Eastar Cross spotted on new site
Long-time ABG reader Yanquetino was perusing the recently re-designed site for AC Propulsion when he stumbled across an interesting photo that may point to ACP's latest OEM project. The car sitting on the hoist in the photo above is a Chery Eastar Cross. For those unfamiliar with the Chinese automaker's lineup, it's a crossover wagon.
We decided to check with AC Propulsion CEO Tom Gage to find out what was up with this vehicle and ask whether it was an independent project or a factory deal. Remember, ACP was contracted by BMW to supply the battery packs and propulsion systems for the MINI E fleet.
Turns out the mystery vehicle is the EV5 which ACP converted on their own for the 2007 Michelin Challenge Bibendum in Shanghai. They bought the car from the Chery factory and did the conversion in California. ACP still has the vehicle and has used it as a development vehicle for subsequent programs. Thanks to Tom and Yanquetino for the info!
Gallery: AC Propulsion EV5
[Source: AC Propulsion]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mark Kiernan 3:41PM (10/19/2009)
Nice car. Is Chery going to set up factories in the US and Europe or are they going to ship everything from China?
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Nick From Montreal 4:01PM (10/19/2009)
These guys are clearly engineer-focused. The site is totally void of any information that may lead to wider recognition in the general public. Even if their business is mostly corporate, being widely known would be helpful too.
* Do they still do conversions for private cars and if so, how much is it going to cost?
* How much is the eBox and how can we buy one?
* Why aren't they promoting the fact that the T-Zero was the inspiration for the Tesla Roadster? EV fans know this, but they should be promoting it to a wider audience.
They could have been Tesla, but they chose to focus on improving EV drive-trains & license the I.P to automakers. So far, it's working as automakers are scrambling to get working vehicles on the roads.
Nicely played AC...
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Mirko 6:08AM (10/20/2009)
Originally Tesla just wanted to use ACP's AC-150 drivetrain, but as I understand it, Tesla was somewhat unhappy with the analog inverter, so they started making their own digital one.
The tzero was a Piontek Sportech kitcar. It was even more radically focused on minimal weight than the Tesla's Lotus chassis. And I guess it would be even less refined and pretty impossible to get crash-tested.
Matthijs 7:04AM (10/20/2009)
The ECE company in Holland is converting VW Golf cars to electric with the ACP powertrain. http://green.autoblog.com/2009/01/27/ece-delivers-first-electric-vw-golf-199-more-to-go/
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Mirko 5:13AM (10/21/2009)
75,000€ plus tax for an ECE Golf with 200km range. Ouch. That's Tesla Roadster money.
Are they really using the ACP-150?
Matthijs 7:34AM (10/21/2009)
I remember a picture where you can clearly see the acp drive under the hood, but I can't find it at the moment. The cars are registered by the Dutch DMV with a 150Kw motor.
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