The first mass produced pure EV (electric vehicle) will go on sale in 2011, in Israel.California-based transport solution company, Project Better Place, will create an infrastructure of 500,000 charging points that the Renault-Nissan EV will run from.
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One of the biggest issues with creating electric vehicles is the battery, which is notoriously difficult and expensive to produce. The solution is that the battery doesn't come as standard with the car.The owner purchases the car and then subscribes to the use of a battery and amount of energy based on distance driven. There are no official details regarding how long a recharge takes, but it has been proposed that to speed it up the battery pack be exchangeable – as shown in the video release. This means a car can simply pull in to the station and receive a freshly charged battery, rather than waiting to charge the depleted unit. Both methods are being worked on. Renault is developing the exchangeable battery, whilst Nissan already has a battery pack that meets the requirements of the EV, and that can be recharged at an electricity point. It's likely that both options will be available.
Quick, affordable emissions-free motoring
It's claimed that the vehicle will offer the performance of an ordinary 1.6-litre car, and have a range of over 100 miles. As 90 per cent of Israel's motorists travel less than 50 miles a day, this means most would only need to charge once every few days. A computer is built into the car to guide drivers to the nearest available recharge point. Tax incentives are also on offer from the Israeli government for users of the Nissan-Renault electric car, making ownership even more affordable. Project Better Place maintains that the recharge infrastructure could be in place in Israel by 2010, with the cars ready by 2011.
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