In Challenge to Detroit, Panel Unveils Electric Minivan, Truck
Worried about the slow pace of electric-vehicle development, the California Air Resources Board and several partners unveiled two new electric vehicles Tuesday intended to hold the auto industry’s feet to the fire.
The concept vehicles showcase existing, state-of-the-art technology that promises twice the range of battery-powered cars now on the road, thanks to an advanced sodium-nickel-chloride battery. The air board and its partners hope to attract manufacturers willing to produce electric-powered cars and trucks in large numbers.
The announcement, coming at a four-day environmental vehicle conference here, appeared as a stern reminder to Detroit and foreign auto makers that other players could grab a piece of the electric-vehicle market. To dawdle could mean being left behind.
Juan Osborne, an air pollution specialist on the board, said the project not only provides the agency with zero-emission vehicles built from the ground up but also yields valuable data about manufacturing costs and processes.
“We have always been at odds with the industry over costs,” he said. “Now we will have our own information.”
The two vehicles--one a small, six-passenger minivan and the other a lightweight pickup truck--are aimed initially at the fleet market. A prototype will be delivered to the air board in 30 days to undergo road testing.
The concept vehicles are being built by Transportation Design & Manufacturing, a Livonia, Mich.-based company that provides design, engineering and manufacturing services to auto makers worldwide.
Jim Bartell, TDM director of engineering, said the vehicles use existing technology.
“They could be produced very quickly,” he said.
The air board is currently holding negotiations with a number of manufacturers, including Grumman Olson, a unit of Northrup Grumman that makes buses and other fleet vehicles, and the Global Transportation Institute, a maker of taxis and postal delivery vans.
Cost is the biggest obstacle. But TDM executives said they are optimistic that with volume production the vehicles could be priced at $25,000 to $30,000.
The project costs about $5 million. The air board and the South Coast Air Quality Management District each provided $1 million.
Other funds came from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Pentagon’s research and development arm, and the Keystone Consortium, a partnership of industry and government agencies based in the mid-Atlantic region.
The California Air Resources Board has been the nation’s most aggressive advocate of electric cars. Last year, the agency backed off a mandate that zero-emission vehicles be sold in California beginning in 1998. Instead, it pushed the requirement back to 2003, when 10% of all vehicles sold must be zero emission. It also requires that substantial demonstration fleets be put on the road beginning this year.
Major auto makers have begun offering electric vehicles for lease in California and are moving forward with research, but oppose government mandates requiring their sale. Increasingly, they favor alternative fuel vehicles, such as natural gas or hybrid electrics, which combine a traditional gas engine with advanced batteries or fuel cells. Under current regulations, only electric vehicles qualify as zero emission.
The two electric vehicles displayed Tuesday will serve as working platforms from which manufacturers can develop other alternative fuel cars and trucks, including those utilizing hydrogen fuel cells or hybrid configurations.
Dave Polletta, TDM vice president of engineering, said they are not just “taxpayer-funded electric golf carts,” but practical vehicles that will provide good driving range and comfort.
The vehicles are lighter than conventional vehicles because they use advanced composite materials for the body. The sodium-nickel-chloride batteries can provide a range of 150 to 200 miles on a single charge. Most electric vehicles now operating use conventional lead-acid batteries and can go only half that distance without recharging.
One possible drawback is that the battery, made by AEG Corp. of Germany, must be maintained at a very high temperature. Such so-called hot batteries have posed safety problems in the past, but TDM executives insisted theirs is safe and has the added advantage of long life.
