Evergreen Electric Vehicles Chooses Solar Drive For Vehicle Solar Panels

Evergreen Electric Vehicles, an authorized ZAP dealer, has chosen Solar Drive as their provider for roof top solar panels for their vehicles.  The system from Denmark based Solar Drive includes two 100 watt panels and a proprietary controller.  Press release follows.

 

PRESS RELEASE

EVERGREEN Electric Vehicles endorses Solar Drive 

Evergreen Electric Vehicles, LLC endorses the Solar Drive system as the preferred Solar Top for all of its vehicles. “We are very impressed with the quality and performance of the Solar Drive products,” says Keith Andrews, President of Evergreen Electric Vehicles.  “The robust design and attention to detail are qualities that drew us to the product.  The management and support staff are highly professional and forward thinking.  We wanted to give our customers some direction on which of Solar top to consider.”  

The Solar Drive top fits a wide range of vehicles. The hardware to install the top uses top quality stainless steel fasteners and the solar panels are surrounded by an attractive extruded aluminum frame with a Scandinavian flare.  Solar Drive’s home office is located in Denmark.

The Solar Drive top converts solar energy from two one hundred watt PV modules through a proprietary Maximum Power Point Tracking charge controller to maximize the amps and volts to the battery pack.  

“The use of the latest state of the art solar panels along with a superior management system is what differentiates the Solar Drive system from the others.” says Erik Andersen, General Manager of Global Sales for Solar Drive.  “This free power from the sun can extend the vehicles range five to ten miles per day, depending on a variety of conditions.  By keeping the batteries constantly charged, the rate and level of discharge is improved, which over time will improve the battery life,” adds Andersen.

To learn more about the Solar Drive system or to locate a Solar Drive distributor near you , go to www.solardrive.com .  To find our more about the full line of Evergreen Electric Vehicles go to www.evergreenev.com

Viridian Motors: Electric Truck Start-up

Viridian Motors of Virginia expects to enter the small, electric utility truck market early next year.  Similar in design to a mini-truck, the Work Ready truck comes in two models, the WR100 and WR200, has a top speed of 25 mph and is priced at $13,500.  Target markets include farms, golf courses and apartment complexes.  The vehicle is a mix of US and China sourced parts with the assembly being performed in Norfolk, VA.

According to the company president Terry Langhorne the chassis and cabin are made in China and Chinese sourced parts constitute 15-20% of the sales price.  Parts sourced from the US include electric AC motor, controller, contactor, wiring harness, seats, transaxle rear end, fuse links, tires, brake lines, interior sheet metal components, steel chassis modifications, 12v battery system, throttle plates, gauges and dashboard switch assemblies.  Learn more:  Hamptonroads.com

Tomberlin & Fallbrook Technologies Expand Joint Efforts

The Tomberlin Group and Fallbrook Technologies along with TEAM Industries have announced that they will be expanding their product development efforts to include additional Tomberlin product lines. Originally focused on the Anvil, Fallbrook’s NuVinci transmission technology will now be put into other vehicles. They will also be accelerating the integration of the technology into the Anvil.

Fallbrook Technlogies CVP

Continuously Variable Planetary (CVP) Transmission

Unlike conventional gear and clutch transmissions, the NuVinci CVP uses a set of rotating and tilting balls positioned between the input and output components of the transmission that adjust to vary the speed of the transmission.  Tilting the balls changes their contact diameters and varies the speed ratio.  As a result, the NuVinci CVP offers a seamless and continuous transition to any ratio within its range in a compact, easy to manufacture and cost effective package that improves system performance. 

Learn more:  Tomberlin.net

News Briefs

Applied Geo Technologies Wins Club Car Supplier Award – Applied Geo Technologies recently received the 2011 Overall Operations Excellence Award from Club Car. The company supplies Club Car with cabling and wiring harnesses for all of Club Car’s golf, transportation and utility vehicles.  Learn more:  Cisionwire.com

Garia Review – Last week the Los Angeles Times published a short review of the Garia LSV.  Learn more:  LATimes.com

Tata Motors Launches Two Light Commercial Vehicles – Today Tata Motors launched the passenger carrier Magic Iris and a micro truck the Ace Zip.  Both vehicles are for India’s domestic market.  The vehicles are lesser versions of the Ace Magic and Ace respectively.  The company plans to launch CNG powered variants in the future.  Learn more:  Business-Standard.com

Bad Boy Buggies Production Moves To Georgia

Production of the recently acquired Bad Boy Buggies has moved to E-Z-GO’s manufacturing facilities in Augusta, GA from Natchez, MS.  The same facilities are used to produce E-Z-GO’s Cushman line of industrial vehicles as well as E-Z-GO golf cars, utility vehicles and LSVs.  The move is not a surprise since Bad Boy Buggies previously has had some quality issues and E-Z-GO is known for their manufacturing prowess.  The Augusta plant was

..named one of Industry Week magazine’s top 10 plants in North America in 2009, and also received the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence, often called “the Nobel Prize of manufacturing,” that same year. The facility is ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified, meaning that it has world-class procedures for manufacturing and environmental protection.

The new location also offers better supply and distribution logistics.  Learn more:  Ammoland.com

Used STOV Sources

I came across a couple of sources for used small, task-oriented vehicles this past week.  The first is a relatively new website, Cartweasel.com.  The website has a searchable database of used golf cars offered by over 50 dealer members covering twenty-one states.

The other source is GovDeals.com, a web-based auction service that specializes in offering auctions of local, state and federal government agency assets including a range of small, task-oriented vehicles from around the country.

Learn more:  Cartweasel.com & GovDeals.com

New Transmission To Improve Small EV Performance

Fallbrook Technologies NuVinci Transmission

Fallbrook Technologies NuVinci Transmission Technology

Fallbrook Technologies and TEAM Industries are collaborating to produce a new transmission for small electric vehicles such as golf cars and LSVs.  They will be supplying Tomberlin with the new transmissions starting with a prototype for their Anvil LSV.  Fallbrook is bringing their NuVinci transmission technology to the collaboration while TEAM Industries has experience in designing and manufacturing drivetrains for small recreational and off-road vehicles.  I spoke with Tomberlin and while they do not have a set date for an Anvil with the new technology to hit dealer showrooms they are looking to move to market as soon as possible.

The NuVinci design is similar to “toroidal” continuously variable transmission but Fallbrook CEO claims states that the NuVinci design “…has about half the number of parts as a typical CVT, and that it will ultimately be able to produce its EV powertrain for about half the price.”   Fallbrook refers to the Nuvinci as a variable planetary transmission (CVP), which uses a set of tilting and rotating balls to effect a continuously variable transmission ratio.  Last month Fallbrook reported that it raised about $39 million in equity financing, giving the San Diego-based company a total of about $95 million in financing since 2000.  Learn more:  Autoobserver.com

On a related note TEAM Industries recently received their 10th patent for electronics and control algorithm for TEAM’s SmartLocker electronic traction control differential system which is used for light automotive, recreational and off-road vehicles.

On surfaces with good traction, a vehicle equipped with the SmartLocker system will stay in 2-wheel drive with a turf-friendly, easy steering, open differential. On slippery surfaces, the system will detect the amount of slip and automatically decide whether to send power to the front wheels and decide how tight to lock the differential(s).

Management reports that the technology will be in a vehicle in the spring of this year.  Learn more:  Bemidjipioneer.com

Company News

Curtis Wins Award For Cab System – Curtis Industries was recently chosen by Car & Driver Magazine to receive the SEMA Global Media Award for the  PathPro SS cab system for the Polaris Ranger UTV.  The year round enclosure can easily mount to the factory installed Roll-Over Protection System.  Learn more:  blog.curtisindustries.net

Case IH Announces UTV Rebate – Effective as of January 1st of this year, Case IH added their Scout utility vehicles to the rebate program program for Iowa Farm Bureau members.  Purchasers of new utility vehicles will be eligible for a $300 rebate.  Learn more:  Iowafarmbureau.com

Kandi Technolgies Trades On NASDAQ Global Market – As of last Monday, January 11th, Kandi Technologies switched from being traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market to the NASDAQ Global Market.  The Chinese exporter of the CoCo LSV as well as gas and electric UTVs, ATVs, go-karts and other small, task-oriented vehicles trades under the symbol KNDI.  Learn more:  Motorsportsnewswire.wordpress.com

E-Z-GO Partners With Dixie Sales Company To Expand Service Network – E-Z-GO has partnered with Dixie Sales Company to offer qualified outdoor power equipment dealers the opportunity to become E-Z-GO authorized sales and service centers.  As such, they will be able to offer parts and accessories for E-Z-GO and Cushman vehicles.  Dixie Sales Company is an independent, full service, value added distributor.  Learn more:  Benzinga.com

Company News Briefs

Cub Cadet Sponsors Design Contest – Outdoor Power equipment maker Cub Cadet is sponsoring the Cub Cadet Future Vision Design Contest.  The contest is open to anyone with a vision for futuristic lawn mowers, tractors or utility vehicles.  Learn more:  Designcrave.com

Yamaha’s Kevin Norcross Gets Expanded Duties – Yamaha Golf-Car Company has put Kevin Norcross in charge of their National Direct Sales team.  The new duties will be in addition to his current work as Marketing Department Manager.  Learn more:  Worldgolf.com

Ladybug Resource Acquires Mag International – Ladybug Resource, a company that acquires and licenses technologies, patents, patents-pending and trade secrets in the energy, health and intellectual property sectors, has acquired controlling interest in Mag International, Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of gasoline and electric mini-utility vehicles.  Learn more:  Tradingmarkets.com

ZAP and Remy Electric Motors Partner – Remy Electric Motors will be the new electric motor suppler for ZAP.  The companies will also work together on developing a drivetrain for other ZAP automotive platforms and for vehicles related to ZAP’s joint venture in China.  Learn more:  Indianapressreeleases.com

Ev Manufacturer Barefoot Motors To Close Doors

Barefoot Motors a manufacturer of electric utility vehicles based in Ashland, OR announced that they will be closing their doors by the end of the year.  According to a statement from CEO Mary Gresens,

Due to a critical interruption in our supply chain which has resulted in a review of our business model, Barefoot Motors LLC will no longer produce and offer the present products. The facility in Ashland is being ramped down and will be closed by the end of the year.

Learn more:  Barefootmotors.com

This is the second company this year in the STOV market that has closed their doors.  Earlier in the summer BG Automotive Group which had plans to build an LSV and then full-size electric vehicles also closed.  Learn more:  Green.autoblog.com