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Cars that can redefine urban transport

Last updated on: April 12, 2010 10:49 IST

Travelling within congested cities is going to be redefined with the in coming of small and trendy electric vehicles.

These vehicles are a crossover between cars and bikes that would be ideal for future city travel.

Most of these vehicles would run on lithium batteries and would be designed to fit into difficult parking spots.

Recently, Nissan designed a two-in-one vehicle called the Land Glider. This half-car, half-scooter has four wheels and a capacity for two-seats.

It would be an electric-powered vehicle with a glider-like cabin and a top speed of 62 mph or 99.7 kph.

The Land Glider would come with an inbuilt computer that would take into account speed and steering angle before automatically calculating the amount of lean required to corner.
At the Delhi Auto Expo Renault had displayed its twin-seater electric car Twizy.

Renault vice president (corporate affairs and communications) Ashish Sinharoy had said, "We will launch the electric versions of our family saloon 'Fluence' and the compact utility vehicle 'Kangoo' in 2011 in Denmark and Israel, followed by the launch of Twizy. We hope to bring all these cars to India within four years of their global launch."

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Cars that can redefine urban transport

Last updated on: April 12, 2010 10:49 IST

Big car makers are gearing up for the electric compact car market in every way possible.

The e-Spark by General Motors, scheduled for a late 2010 or early 2011 launch, is a bold move into the Indian battery-electric vehicle segment.

The four-door passenger electric vehicle being jointly developed by Indian EV automaker Reva and the Indian subsidiary of General Motors.

News has also come in regarding BMW's upcoming tiny MegaCity urban electric vehicle, which is expected to be built out of carbon fiber that is partly made in the US.

BMW might partner with composites expert like SGL Group to construct a new plant in Moses Lake, Washington, that will manufacture lightweight carbon-fiber materials for auto industry applications.

BMWs MegaCity cars will run solely on electricity stored in a 16-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack.
Also, the recent Daimler and Renault-Nissan deal might prove to be a new wave of life for the electric Smart.

The three companies would produce a new four-door Smart model while the two-door Smart stays in production. Production is expected to begin in 2013.