The car manufacturing company ‘Tata’, based in New Delhi, India is planning to release an electric version of their Indica hatchback, as soon as next year. In 2010 the car is going to be released on general sale in Norway first, then in India, following to the U.S. hopefully within just one more year.

The car was showcased at Wednesday’s industry show in Europe, where it received as much praise and publicity as their previous model of gas powered car, the Nano, which is also the world’s cheapest brand new car. Other manufacturers such as GM, owners of Cadillac, are now begginning to ‘pull up their pants’, and start serious work on their electric vehicles, to try and ensure that they do not lose the race to release the first plug-in car.

It is not just GM that are begginning to pick up the pace on the release of their electric vehicles. Nissan and Mitsubishi are also trying their absolute hardest to release their vehicles sooner rather than later, although the technology, whilst it is relatively well known and advertised, is still in early stages. 

It looks like India will be the clear winners in this battle to beat the competitors to the market.

The planning team at Chevrolet do not seem to think it is a good idea for their brand new and slightly experimental electric car to be placed in public view as of yet. However, there is always some ’sneaky devil’, who manages to snap a shot of these things. The new car looks tastefully designed, but unfortunately that is just about all we know at the moment.

GM, owners of Chevy, are still trying to be the first American manufacturer to market a plug in hybrid electric car. This seems to be the closest step so far. The Volt seems to be just an updated version of their original hybrid of the same name, but with massive changes to the exterior design. The car is thought to feature in the latest blockbuster ‘Transformers 2, Revenge of the Fallen’. This is looking to be more fact than fiction as the car was ’snapped’ leaving the studio parking lot.

General Motors, the prestigious manufacturing company behind market giant Cadillac, is set to release it’s Volt electric car into the American market in the year 2010. The American firm is then going to rebadge it as an Opel, in the hope of taking over the European market for the greener car.

With America slightly lagging in the electric car race, this comes as good news to all members of the United States. This car could easily see America take the lead in the market in most countries, excluding the current Asian market leaders.

The minimum travel range for this car is going to be around 40 miles, and the battery life will be as much as ten years. This is a car that is built to last, and is one of the more attractive electric vehicles to go into production.

With funding running short, whichever industry one is involved with, it is obvious that the automotive industry is suffering slightly. GM is currently trying to lobby some important subsidieries from high ranking government officials, to aid the manufacture of the Volt.

Tokyo gets one step closer to popularising the common use of electric vehicles. As we know, electric cars in Tokyo out number electric vehicles across the rest of the world. Now some manufacturers in Tokyo are developing stations where people can recharge their electric cars, making them run up to 25 miles on just a five minute battery charge.

The company involved (TEPCO) has denied that they are going to set these stations up any time soon within the city, although they have completed trail projects, and the rsults look very promising. This could mean that Tokyo may eventually become the world’s first city to completely switch to the electric motor, exciting news for any environmentalist. It is thought, however, that the actual commisioning of such stations could take years, if not decades.

Car manufacturers that are currently stocking vehicles manufactured by Fuji Heavy Industries have agreed to have these stations available at their stores, just as soon as the plans get the all clear. These will be located amongst the new electric vehicles to be manufactured and released by Mitsubishi, Subaru and Nissan.

This news comes as a breath of fresh air to almost everyone that is just a little bit caring of the environment. Is it a good idea? It’s a great idea, and good luck to them!

You heard it here, Renault and Nissan are working on an a completely clean zero emission power-train by the year 2010. The team plans on utilizing lithium ion battery technology to power the vehicle.

Together this team will be targeting Europe and Japan with their new design. The main selling points of this vehicle are:

1. battery life,
2. Motor capacity, and
3. regenerative breaking

Hope to see more vehicle projects like this in the future.

One of Toyota’s dealerships in Rockwell Texas is receiving the first Gold LEED award in the country. LEED stands for Leadership in Environmental Design. Earlier this year another Toyota dealership was awarded the silver award. These awards are certified by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC.)

This award is not easy to attain. According to the Toyota blog:

“To achieve Gold certification, Toyota of Rockwall made extensive use of recycled and energy-saving materials. For instance, four water cisterns capable of holding 63,500 gallons of rainwater and air conditioning condensation are used for landscape irrigation. The landscape itself consists of native plants, trees and grasses that are drought- and disease-resistant. The roof is made of materials that reflect 90 percent of the sun’s heat energy.”

In recent years Toyota has joined in the cause to become more environmentally friendly. In the future other companies will be more than willing to join in knowing that they can gain exposure like this.

Source: Toyota Open Road Blog