Tesla sports car returns to electrify roads [News]

By Grace Chua, The Straits Times, 21 Jul 2011.

MOTORISTS here who want to draw envious stares while feeling environmentally friendly will soon be able to get behind the wheel of the world’s first electric sports car.

The Tesla Roadster is being imported by a local firm after its American maker closed its Singapore office without clinching any sales.

Prices will start at about $520,000, including a Category B certificate of entitlement.

The 288-horsepower two-seater can go from 0-100kmh in four seconds, hit a top speed of 201kmh, and has a range of 500km in optimal driving conditions.

The firm, FSG Mobility Concepts, claims there will be a strong demand from luxury goods buyers keen to make a fashion statement while displaying their green credentials. Read more

How to Address the Key Barriers to the Widespread Acceptance of E-vehicles

This article is contributed by Mr Ishan Palit, President and CEO, TÜV SÜD Asia Pacific. He addresses the greatest challenges to the widespread adoption of electric-powered vehicles (e-vehicles).

In the last five years, the manufacturing, awareness and usage of e-vehicles has rapidly gathered pace, buoyed by the introduction of attractive government incentives and mounting concerns about the future availability of oil and world’s burgeoning carbon footprint. According to Pike Research, this trend will only intensify. A recent report [1] from the firm predicts a total of 3.2 million electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, such as Nissan Motor Co.’s Leaf model and General Motors Co.’s Volt, will be sold between 2010 and 2015 with a compound annual growth rate of 106%. Projections from Bloomberg New Energy Finance echo these sentiments. It believes plug-in electric hybrid cars could account for 9 percent of total U.S. auto sales by 2020 and 22 percent by 2030. Read more

Launch Of Singapore’s Electric Vehicle Test-Bed [Press Releases]

The inter-agency Electric Vehicle (EV) Taskforce, led by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA), announced the launch of the electric vehicle test-bed in Singapore today. The objective of the EV test-bed is to test and gauge different EV prototypes and charging technologies given Singapore’s urbanised environment and road conditions, before deciding whether to roll it out for mass adoption.

Key features of EV test-bed

2 For a start, the EV test-bed will be launched with:

• Three outdoor and two indoor charging stations;
• First batch of five Mitsubishi i-MiEVs;
• Four smart electric drive (ed) Daimler vehicles;
• First batch of participants comprising LTA, Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Mitsubishi Corporation and Senoko Energy [1].

3 The test-bed will focus on gathering data and insights to guide the planning for future deployment of EVs, including the optimal ratio of charging stations to vehicles. For the convenience of the test-bed participants, charging stations have been designed to automatically collect data on the EV users’ charging patterns. To provide an adequate period for data collection, the test-bed will be extended by one year until end of 2013. (Please see Annex for location of EV charging stations). Read more

Singapore launches electric vehicle test-bed [News]

Singapore is testing out several electric vehicle (EV) prototypes and technologies.

The inter-agency Electric Vehicle Taskforce announced the launch of the electric vehicle test-bed on Saturday.

The taskforce is led by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

The aim of the test-bed is to test and gauge different EV prototypes and charging technologies, given Singapore’s urbanised environment and road conditions, before deciding whether to roll it out for mass use. Read more

BMW’s electric hope for Singapore: Yes, i Can? [News]

BMW’s new electric vehicle sub-brand – the BMW i – is going where some have failed and many do not dare venture without government support. It is coming here.

The German carmaker is preparing to launch the electric BMW i3 and its hybrid super sportscar sibling (the BMW i8) here in 2013.

‘This is a megacity. Five million people live in Singapore. It has many of the attributes of a major city – congestion is a problem and the environment is something that is increasingly gaining awareness,’ Ian Robertson, a board member at BMW Group, told BT.

The launch of an electric vehicle will have to navigate a unique set of challenges here. To date – not counting Tesla – no other carmaker has brought in electric cars apart from Mitsubishi, although Renault is expected to do so by year-end. Read more

SMRT in MOU to sell electric vehicles in Singapore [News]

SMRT Corporation Ltd said on Thursday that its unit, subsidiary, SMRT International Pte Ltd (SMRT), has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with green energy technology company, BYD Company Limited, to distribute and sell electric vehicles in Singapore.

Both parties will enter into discussions on the possibility of establishing a joint venture to develop, distribute and sell electric vehicles, including e-buses and electric taxi vehicles.

The MOU with BYD underlines SMRT’s commitment to environmental sustainability, the transport group said.

SMRT became the first public transport provider in Singapore and South East Asia to purchase Euro V compliant buses in May 2008, and now has more than 140 Euro V buses on the roads.

SMRT Buses also started trials for two environmentally-friendly buses in January 2011, the German-made MAN A22 Euro V bus and its first diesel-electric hybrid bus made by China’s Zhong Tong.

Source: The Business Times

Electric vehicle trial set to start in June [News]

The electric vehicle trial is expected to be plugged in by June, after a delay of about a year.

But the initial fleet of battery-powered cars may be far smaller than planned because of supply disruptions in Japan.

The first fleet of five Mitsubishi i-MiEVs has been delivered to Singapore, a spokesman for the Energy Market Authority (EMA) told The Straits Times.

The battery-powered cars are part of a $20 million trial announced by the EMA in 2009 to test the durability and viability of electric vehicles in a tropical city. Read more

Singapore’s Greenlots Set to Lead in Global Electric Vehicle Charging Solutions

Interest in electric vehicles is gaining momentum around the world and most major car manufacturers are starting to produce electric cars. The increased interest and usage of electric vehicles (EV) would have to be supported by intelligent EV charging networks, and a local company, Greenlots, is set to lead in global EV charging solutions.

About Greenlots

Started in late 2008, Greenlots is a Singapore-based company that designs and delivers hardware and software to enable EV manufacturers and distributors, utilities, municipalities and other businesses to set up their own EV charging network. Greenlots is Asia’s leading provider of charging networks with installations in ten countries, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Germany, Poland, Italy, Austria, UK, Ireland and Thailand. Read more

Greenlots Delivers Its First Batch of Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles in Hong Kong [Press Release]

SINGAPORE, March 2, 2011 – Greenlots, Asia’s leading provider of charging solutions for electric vehicles (EVs), today announced the successful delivery of an initial network of 15 charging stations for EVs, for a major utility in Hong Kong. As part of a competitive tender, Greenlots was awarded a contract to install an initial test network, which in turn allows the utility to prepare for the larger roll-out of electric vehicles in Hong Kong as well as regionally in Asia Pacific. Read more

Electric Vehicle Tests to Start in Mid-2011 [News]

The first batch of 10 Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric cars is likely to be launched in May for the start of a three-year test-bedding project here.

The i-MiEV is a pure electric vehicle (EV) that is part of a $20 million programme to test-bed EVs in Singapore.

‘The test-bed will run for a period of three years, commencing from the middle of this year,’ said Lew Yii Der, the Land Transport Authority’s group director for corporate planning and research.

The LTA is one of the co-leaders of Singapore’s multi-agency EV Taskforce, along with the Energy Market Authority (EMA).

Mr Lew was speaking yesterday at the UK-Singapore Partners in Science Electric Vehicles Symposium 2011. The event, hosted by the British High Commission and the National University of Singapore, brought together specialists from Singapore, the UK and China to discuss the latest EV research and related work in power systems, materials and infrastructure. Read more

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