Category Archives: NEV

BG Autmotive Looking For Manufacturing Sites

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A local news story reports that Philadelphia based BG Automotive is looking for manufacturing sites in the Boston area including Bridgewater, Taunton, Fall River and New Bedford. The facility will be for mass production of their C100 neighborhood electric vehicle and employ about 150 people per shift. The company is looking for a site for a 60,000 – 100,000 square foot facility and is currently seeking funding.

Since the vehicle’s parts are imported and most of the activity at the facility would be assembly the company expects vehicle production could begin in as little as four months once a facility is found. The chassis and body of the vehicle are imported while components like the motor, controller and batteries are manufactured in the U.S. Delivery of the first vehicle is expected to be in April or May of 2009 according to the company’s website.

Another news source also states that

The company is planning to develop six facilities in the next 24 months for a total production of about 100,000 vehicles by year-end 2010.

I thought these latter figures were quite aggressive so I placed a call with BG Automotive and was able to speak with Barry Bernstein, the founder of the company.

He confirmed that the company is looking to develop six facilities with the ability to produce around 15,000 vehicles each annually. While our estimates of the LSV market size the market at less than 10,000 vehicles a year, Bernstein noted that interest in their vehicle has been higher than expected with over 44,000 people signing up on their website. No deposit is required to sign up initially but as the actual production date moves closer a deposit is required.

Bernstein also noted that the facilities will be designed to easily switch over to highway-speed electric vehicle production which is in the company’s long term plans. Besides Massachusetts, the Philadelphia based company is also looking to place facilities close to major LSV markets including California, Georgia, Texas, Northern Florida, Pennsylvania and the Tennessee – Kentucky area. They are applying for loan guarantees and other support from both federal and state agencies but will be able to scale down their facilities if they cannot garner this support. Bernstein expects to have more information on their site selection in about two weeks.

Chicago To Pilot Test LSVs As Taxis

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Later this year the City of Chicago is planning to start a pilot project to test the viability of using low speed vehicles as taxicabs in certain areas of the city.

I spoke with Efrat Stein, a spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection and she stated that the first step in the program is the passage of an LSV ordinance by the City Council.???? The ordinance, recently proposed by Mayor Daley, just made it through the Traffic Committee today and should be placed for a vote before the full council later this month.?? Stein currently sees no issues that would impede passage of the ordinance.

The city has not chosen a specific LSV for the pilot yet and will not begin the process until the ordinance passes.?? The minimum requirement is that the LSV has to have four doors and be able to seat four people. Learn more

LSVs Will Be Hurt By Proposed Changes To Plug-In Electric Vehicle Tax Credit

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The Senate Finance Committee is currently proposing changes to the plug-in electric drive motor vehicle credit by increasing the 250,000 vehicle limitation to 500,000. The bad news for LSV manufacturers and purchasers is that the changes also exclude low speed vehicles from qualifying for the credit. Instead they are creating a separate tax credit for LSVs, motorcycles and three-wheel vehicles of 10% up to $4,000. The credit will be good for vehicles sold before 2012.

Given the price ranges of current LSVs and three wheel vehicles, the changes mean a significant reduction in the tax credit for these vehicles. The original tax credit started at $2,500 and increased for vehicles with battery packs over 4KW in power. As I interpret it, a $10,000 to $15,000 LSV will now only receive a tax credit of $1,000 – $1,500, a sixty to forty percent reduction in the tax credit that would be available under the current law.

On a related note, according to people I spoke with at the Electric Drive Transportation Association, the IRS has still not ruled on the eligibility of various vehicles under the current tax credit rules .

Original story greencarcongress.com

Road Use Regulation Round Up

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Ocean City, NJ – Police urge city council to keep golf cars off city streets for safety reasons.

West Baraboo, WI – Passes ordinance allowing NEVs on low speed streets and certain crossings of state highway.

Charleston, NC – A limousine service with two Tomberlin E-merge vehicles as part of their fleet had to cease using the LSVs when the city attorneys determined the vehicles violated city code and zoning ordinance. The owner hopes the city will revisit the issue later in the year.

Wausau, WI – City amends ordinance to allow NEVs to be driven on some city streets.

Massachusetts – Legislation bans the use of NEVs on roads with speed limits above 30 mph and requires that they follow the same licensing and registration rules as cars. Additional legislation allows the Registry of Motor Vehicles to register as ???motorcycles??? three-wheeled electric vehicles that have standard safety equipment and travel no faster than 40 miles per hour. (i.e. Zap Xebra) Such vehicles could be registered at the discretion of the Registrar, and would be limited to traveling on public roads having speed limits of 40 miles per hour or less.

Pittsfield, IL – Ordinance proposed to allow the use of NEVs and golf cars to operate on city streets with speed limits of 35 mph or less and cross streets with higher speed limits.

Indiana – Legislation proposed to allow mini-trucks to be licensed and titled. Apparently the state’s motor vehicle department has been inconsistent in their approach to these vehicles. The department plans to title them as off-road vehicles, which allows owners to drive them on secondary roads in some Indiana counties.

Chicago To Allow LSVs?

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Mayor Daley of Chicago is set to introduce an ordinance in the City Council today that will allow residents and city agencies to use LSVs on Chicago streets with speed limits up to 30 mph.

The ordinance is part of the Mayor’s “green Fleet” initiative which already includes the purchase of four GEMs for use inside fleet management facilities. The city expects to add more vehicles for parking enforcement, some refuse collection tasks and crowd control in contained areas.

From our point of view this is a significant development that such a large city is moving towards allowing LSVs. To date, mostly smaller communities have adopted LSV ordinances. This action could set a precedent for other large cities, provides high profile exposure for LSVs and offers a test case for the use of LSVs in urban areas. We will be watching to see if the ordinance passes and how many of Chicago’s residents will choose to use LSVs.

Army Leases The First Of 4,000 LSVs

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First Army NEVs Delivered (Molly Riley/Reuters)

The Army took delivery of six GEM LSVs, the first step towards eventually acquiring 4,000 LSVs. A total of 800 vehicles will be delivered in 2009, followed by 1,600 in 2010 and 1,600 in 2011.

Not all of the vehicles will necessarily be GEMs which were procured through the GSA. The GSA currently lists GEM, Columbia ParCar, E-SUV and ZENN as LSV vendors. In an interview with bloggers, Paul Bollinger, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Energy and Partnerships, remarked that he expected to see more manufacturers to join the GSA list. The GSA posted a request for vendors on Fedbizopps.com today.

He also noted in the interview that the Army had identified 28,000 sedans and light trucks that could potentially be replaced by electric vehicles, either LSVs or higher speed vehicles. Part of the reason they have moved to LSVs is that fueling station infrastructure for alternative fuel vehicles has not been able to keep pace with vehicle acquisition. The necessary infrastructure costs would be in the millions of dollars while the installation of three-prong outlets for charging the LSVs will only cost an estimated $200 per vehicle.

The Army estimates an LSV saves them $3,300 compared to a full-size sedan. The LSVs will be leased for six years and maintenance and battery replacement are included in the lease. Bollinger remarked that not only will the Army save on fuel costs but also produce lower emissions and help drive the market for LSVs and battery technology. The Navy has directly expressed interest in “piggybacking” on the Army program and while the Air Force has used back channels to show their interest in joining forces.

More…

GEM Loses Luster With Army In Europe

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After a six month trial the US Army has decided not to use GEMs at garrisons across Europe.

GEM on test with US Army

GEM on test with US Army

During the trial three vehicles were tested at US Army garrison Grafenwohr in Germany. The vehicles were used for trash site inspection, mail delivery and housing area checks. According to Stars and Stripes,

Last week, Grafenwohr???s director of public works, Tom Hays, said the cars failed to impress.

“They broke down too often and didn???t have enough range,” he said of the cars made in the States by a Chrysler subsidiary.

Other comments by Hays suggest that the primary problem is with the vehicle’s limited range, about 30 miles. The article notes that these test trial results does not preclude the Army from revisiting the use of electric vehicles in the future.

More in Stars and Stripes

Korean Manufacturer Offers New LSV

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CT&T, a Korea based electric vehicle manufacturer, has developed the e-Zone EV low speed vehicle (LSV).

The vehicle comes with a 72 volt electric motor which can be powered by one of three battery pack options, flooded lead acid with a range of 35 miles or two different lithium ion packs with ranges of 45 and 75 miles. The company is establishing an assembly plant in Fiji which will be able to produce up to 10,000 vehicles annually. For North America, CT&T reports it is building an assembly line in conjunction with Royal Laser Mfg. in Toronto, Canada with an annual capacity of up to 15,000 vehicles and a projected start date in March 2009.

In the US the vehicle will be marketed as the CT Series Micro Car by T3 Motion. The company is targeting the public safety and private security markets and has contracted for 4,000 vehicles from CT&T. The deal is reported to be worth $50 million or about $12,500 per vehicle. The company reports orders for 100 vehicles already.

More from greencar.com

Ontario To Allow Low Speed Vehicles

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Ontario will allow low speed vehicles on public roads as long as they have certain safety features. According to a press release from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Low-speed electric vehicles can be driven safely on public roads as long
as they include a number of additional safety requirements and follow
appropriate road restrictions, according to a National Research Council study
released today by the Ontario government.

The list of additional safety requirements based on the National Research Council study includes:

  • Windshield wipers
  • Windshield defogger and heating system
  • Doors
  • Three-point seat belts
  • Slow-moving vehicle identification emblem
  • Seat belt anchors
  • Brakes on all four wheels
  • Federal standards for occupant protections
  • Safety glass on all windows
  • Only permitted on roads with a speed limit of 50 km/h or less
  • Infants and children may not be permitted to ride in an LSV

The complete report from the National Research Council should be available here (pdf) but the link was not working as of this posting.

Road Use Regulation Round Up

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Cities across the country continue to both pass or reject ordinance regarding LSVs and golf cars. A number of common issues keep surfacing including:

  • Safety concerns when mixing LSVs with larger & faster vehicles
  • Legality of crossing over state highways
  • Allowing golf cars on public roads and grouping these vehicles together with LSVs

On the last point, I believe the LSV manufacturers will need to do a better job differentiating themselves from golf cars. You often hear LSVs/NEVs referred to as “glorified golf carts” or a similar moniker. This only creates confusion and blurs the real safety differences between the two different types of vehicles. This melding of vehicle types and their perceived level of safety, often attributing LSVs with a golf cart level of safety, ultimately makes it harder to pass ordinances allowing LSV use on city streets.

Commerce City, CO ??? approved revised ordinance allowing the use of NEVs
Deer Park, WA ??? repealed ordinance allowing golf cars to be operated on city streets
Berthoud, CO ??? passed ordinance allowing NEVs on the road
Loveland, CO ??? considering NEV ordinance
Stuart City, FL ??? failed to pass an ordinance that would allow LSVs and golf cars on designated streets. There were concerns about safety and access because the vehicles cannot cross state highways.
Bismarck, ND ??? passed ordinance allowing use of LSVs on certain streets
Zion, Il ??? ordinance allowing the use of LSVs on hold until the city can resolve questions about insurance for the vehicles
Bainbridge, GA ??? considering ordinance that would allow the use of golf cars on streets
Winter Garden, FL ??? six month trial period allowing the use of golf cars on city streets

Wausau, WI – the state DOT rejected an ordinance for LSVs, needing to examine state highway crossovers more closely

Canyonville, OR and Ocean City, NJ have moved to forbid the use of golf cars on city streets