10 More Electric Vehicle Stories

Haven’t had enough electric vehicle (EV) news lately? Check out these 10 EV stories below.

1. Toyota has unveiled the ME.WE concept EV. It’s a cute little car, reminiscent of a Mini Cooper, in my opinion. Its floors and horizontal surfaces are made of bamboo, an interesting twist that I imagine could get nixed when moving from concept to reality (but maybe not). Check out several pictures and a couple videos via the link above.

2. BYD has landed a contract to supply the Californian city of Long Beach with electric buses. The $11.5 million deal comes after a bit fo controversy, as US-based Proterra thought the city should have supplied a US-based company (i.e. Proterra) with the contract. However, over 60% of the parts for BYD’s buses are to be made in the US (its a requirement), and the buses are assembled in the US. Furthermore, BYD offered complementary charging stations, which its US rivals reportedly couldn’t offer.

3. Lito Green Motion unveils its first electric motorcycle, the Sora Electric Super-Bike. After years of development, the Canadian-based company has unveiled the beauty above, which has a range of 185 miles on a single charge, can charge in 8 hours (or in 90 minutes with a quick charger), and sells for $41,000. Check out more details, pictures, and videos at the link above.

4. The Dongfeng Nissan VIWA is a new EV concept car that was unveiled last week at Auto Shanghai 2013. The VIWA would be produced under the VENUCIA brand.

5. World’s 1st solar-powered electric scooter? Solar Electric Scooters Inc says so. This scooter with a solar panel embedded has a range of 20 miles on a single charge, can go up to 15 miles per hour, and is available with a as little as $1,500 (early bird special) on crowdfunding site When You Wish.

6. The US hybrid electric vehicle market grew by 41% in 2012, according to Experian Automotive. The Prius led hybrid sales, capturing 37.2% of the market. Next were the Toyota Camry Hybrid (8.9%), and Toyota Prius V (8.6%). More interesting stats via the link above.

7. Detroit Electric & Geely Automotive are planning to jointly build an EV for the Chinese market. The partnership will see the first vehicle, the EC7-EV, on the market in 2014. “The EC7-EV will be offered in two driving ranges: 100 miles and 160 miles. The car will offer a 0-60 time under eight seconds, and a top speed of around 125 miles per hour.”

8. California high-speed rail has moved forward one important step, after winning a big lawsuit. “The California High-Speed Rail Authority (the Authority) has reached a settlement with a group of California Central Valley farmers who had sued to block the high speed rail project based on environmental grounds,” Gas2 writes. “Thanks to the settlement, the Authority has agreed to establish a $5 million fund to preserve farmland and also pay nearly $1 million in legal fees to the groups.”

9. Congress put on another circus, this one regarding Fisker’s failures and bankruptcy. Of course, as with too many things, as much political nonsense was thrown about as was useful questioning and information. “In fact, for over three hours, it was perhaps the definition of political theater,” AutoblogGreen writes.

10. Over 35% of public transit buses in the US use alternative fuels or hybrid technology. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) notes that this is in “striking contrast to the 1.3 percent of automobiles that used  alternative-fuels.” (Note: the figures are for end of 2010.) More details and commentary via the link above.

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