Electric technology is still distant when it comes to India. Cost of manufacturing as well as setting up charging stations will be a humungous task. When we talk about alternative fuel cars, broadly speaking there are the hybrids, hydrogen fuel cell cars and the completely electric cars. Hybrid technology is already here, Toyota Prius & Honda Civic Hybrid are a few examples of the same. Fuel cell cars are still a long way ahead, the Honda Fcx Clarity is one successful example and courtesy of infrastructure set up Mr. Terminator in California state, the Clarity is doing well in the States but critics are still not convinced about hydrogen fuel cell technology and some even call if dangerous. Coming to the complete electric vehicles, the Reva is here in India and the company has been taken over by Mahindra’s off late.
Recent development has been in the direction of Lithium ion technology. Nissan has spend millions of dollars into research and have come out with best electric car in the global market last year, the Nissan LEAF. The LEAF stands for ‘Leading, Environmentally friendly, Affordable, Family car’. The LEAF has already won the 2011 car of the year award and is already on sale in Japan, Europe and North America.
ADVANTAGES
No exhaust pipe. (Zero Emmisions). The regular electricals of the car like the tail lamps, horn etc are powered by a seperate 12 V battery. There are 48 lithium-ion battery modules with four battery cells inside each module which fit snugly beneath the floor of the car, these are used to power the motor. The LEAF also has regenerative braking, which means that by applying the brake or lifting off the accelerator, the electric motor acts as a generator, converting energy that would otherwise be wasted into battery energy.
Recent development has been in the direction of Lithium ion technology. Nissan has spend millions of dollars into research and have come out with best electric car in the global market last year, the Nissan LEAF. The LEAF stands for ‘Leading, Environmentally friendly, Affordable, Family car’. The LEAF has already won the 2011 car of the year award and is already on sale in Japan, Europe and North America.
ADVANTAGES
No exhaust pipe. (Zero Emmisions). The regular electricals of the car like the tail lamps, horn etc are powered by a seperate 12 V battery. There are 48 lithium-ion battery modules with four battery cells inside each module which fit snugly beneath the floor of the car, these are used to power the motor. The LEAF also has regenerative braking, which means that by applying the brake or lifting off the accelerator, the electric motor acts as a generator, converting energy that would otherwise be wasted into battery energy.
The LEAF is powered by a light weight and small 80 kW (108 Bhp) AC Electric motor which can run for 175 km per charge according to the European driving cycle and has a torque of 280 Nm. The electric motor does not idle but rotates only when the vehicle is moving. It is a front wheel drive and can be charged overnight as well as can be Power Charged to 80 percent battery in 30 mins, with the help of a special charger provided with the car.
