British company the Electric Car Corporation (ECC) yesterday launched a new electric car for city use, based on the small Citroen C1 hatchback, which it says is the first four-seat electric car to be sold in the UK.
Called the Evie, the car is externally identical to the Citroen on which it is based. At its Bedfordshire factory, ECC removes the petrol engine and fuel tank from completed C1 cars and installs a lithium-ion battery, electric motor and associated control electronics.
Sixteen of the battery's cells go under the bonnet, alongside the motor and gearbox, and another nine cells fit in place of the fuel tank, leaving the passenger compartment and boot unchanged.
The battery can be charged in around six hours from a domestic 240V supply at a cost of around £1, and according to ECC will provide around 75 miles of motoring at speeds of up to 60mph.
Because it is based on an existing car developed by a volume manufacturer, the Evie meets all current safety standards for conventional cars. The fossil-fuelled C1 was assessed in 2005 by the Euro NCAP crash testing organisation and was awarded four out of five stars for both adult and rear-seat child protection - a reasonable result given the car's small dimensions. The car also offers front and side airbags, seatbelt pretensioners and anti-lock brakes.
ECC argues that these features set the Evie apart from its electric car rivals, such as the popular G-Wiz, which by virtue of its weight and classification as a "quadricycle" is exempt from crashworthiness legislation.
At the launch event in London yesterday, BusinessGreen.com undertook a short test drive on London streets. The car has a single-speed transmission, offering just one forward and one reverse gear and no clutch. The petrol gauge registers remaining battery charge while the speedometer and all other controls remain untouched.
There is no air-conditioning option, but the existing heater has been modified to work electrically rather than from waste engine heat.
With three adults aboard the car felt quite sluggish compared to its petrol-powered siblings, and also noticeably slower to accelerate, although a lot less cramped, than the lighter G-Wiz electric alternative.
According to ECC, the Evie has a kerb weight of about 900kg, roughly 100kg more than the standard C1. The Evie is quite fast enough to keep up with urban traffic, however, and should be more at home on 50mph stretches than the G-Wiz, which can be unnerving to drive near its top speed.
In common with other electric cars, the Evie uses the motor as a generator when the car is slowing down. This regenerative braking effect is quite pronounced, and often makes it unnecessary to use the brakes when slowing for a junction. ECC says energy recaptured in this way accounts for about 15 per cent of the car's range in city driving.
With weight and weight distribution very similar to the donor car, the Evie rides well and, with the absence of engine noise, is very quiet - particularly from the outside. Drivers need to be more than normally aware of inattentive pedestrians.
The Evie is available to order from today and costs from £16,850. This is a substantial increase on the C1's base list price of £7,795 but is competitive with the £15,795 asked for the lithium-ion based G-Wiz.
In common with its rival, ECC points to the discounts that electric car owners can currently enjoy, including zero road tax, London Congestion Charge exemption, free or reduced parking in certain boroughs, and low running costs.
ECC offers a three-year warranty, plus the option of an extended warranty, and predicts that the batteries should last six to seven years.
Speaking to BusinessGreen.com, ECC chief executive David Martell said the Evie can be serviced by Citroen's network and should eventually be available to buy through Citroen dealers. He added that while Citroen has been supportive of ECC's project, it is currently a supplier rather than a partner of the company.
ECC has spent three years developing the Evie, and expects to sell 500 units in the first 12 months, rising to 2,000 to 5,000 the following year.
Martell said that the UK government was largely to blame for the wide variation in production estimates, arguing that it’s recently announced incentive scheme for electric cars could create a "sales vacuum" that sees potential customers delay purchasing until the subsidy is available in 2011.
