The 26th annual Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS26) is currently under way in Los Angeles. It’s a large gathering of engineers and marketers involved in the growing EV industry.
Toyota for example, took the opportunity to finally unveil the production RAV4 EV yesterday. This all-electric SUV has an expected driving range rating of about 100 miles and is a joint development between Toyota and Tesla. It will have a sticker price of $49,800.
According to Toyota the front wheel drive RAV4 EV allows drivers to select from two distinctly different drive modes, Sport and Normal. In Sport mode, the vehicle reaches 0-60 mph in just 7.0 seconds and has a maximum speed of 100 mph. Normal mode achieves 0-60 mph in 8.6 seconds with a maximum speed of 85 mph. Maximum output from the electric powertrain is 154 hp(115kW) @ 2800 rpm.
The major theme at ESV26 was charging systems and eight auto manufacturers – Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Porsche and Volkswagen – jointly announced that they have agreed to support a “harmonized single-port fast charging design” that will allow charging from a variety of sources.
The combined charging system integrates one-phase AC-charging, fast three-phase AC-charging, DC-charging at home and ultra-fast DC-charging at public stations into one vehicle inlet. This will allow customers to charge at most existing charging stations regardless of power source and the manufacturers hope it will speed adoption of a more affordable standardized infrastructure.
The manufacturers say combined charging stations are projected to be available later this year and that all the committed OEMs have vehicles in development that will use the Combined Charging System. The first vehicles to use this will become available next year.
While the Germans and Americans have agreed to support this harmonized single-port design for future EVs (with SAE International blessing), Japanese manufacturers and others continue to promote their existing CHAdeMO alternative for DC quick charging.
In many ways the most shocking announcement at ESV26 was a concept for electrification of heavy-duty trucks. No kidding – Siemens announced its ‘eHighway of the Future’ concept. The eHighway concept is the electrification of trucks and select highway lanes via overhead electrified wires similar to how modern day streetcars are powered on city streets. Here’s a screen grab from a video demonstrating the electrifying idea.
The hybrid diesel-electric truck will automatically connect to overhead wires when it detects their availability and switch off the diesel engine. The system is currently being tested in Germany and pilot projects are already being planned for the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to connect to cargo centers. When you think about it ‘electric’ trucks make a lot of sense as they are heavy consumers of diesel fuel and pollute more than cars.
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Related posts:
- Audi Commissions Electric Vehicle R&D Site
- 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show Preview: 17+ Global Debuts
- Green Car of the Year: Who’s Going to Win? – 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show
Source : Google Reader
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