Following in the footsteps of the Aston Martin Cygnet, Lotus will introduce their own City Car, apparently dubbed the Ethos, in late 2013.

First unveiled at the 2010 Paris Auto Show, the Ethos will be powered by a hybrid powertrain or possibly a fully electric system like the Nissan Leaf. The concept used a 1.2L three-cylinder engine with a hybrid system that allowed for 37 miles of electric driving and a total range of 310 miles. Pricing is said to be set at $45,000.

GALLERY: Lotus Ethos Concept

[Source: DuPont Registry]

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said that the Japanese government’s effort to keep the yen’s value under control had failed and that Nissan was strongly considering moving production out of Japan and into foreign countries.

A weakened United States dollar has meant that the value of the greenback has shifted from 91 yen per dollar to 76 yen per dollar over the past two years. This unfavorable exchange range has led Nissan to examine other countries for vehicle production. ”We have to make investment decisions all the time,” Ghosn told Reuters. “This is one of the factors that we have to consider when we look at a project and say are we going to do it in Japan or are we going to do it in another country?”

Despite this, Ghosn said that he felt vehicle sales would rise in 2012 even in the face of another possible economic downturn. Ghosn also announced a new electric vehicle to be built in China for the Chinese market.

[Source: CNBC]

Ford may begin building electric cars in China via joint ventures with Chinese auto makers, replicating the tactics of rivals like General Motors and Daimler AG, parent company of Mercedes-Benz. China is looking to add 1 million EVs by 2015 as part of an effort to curb emissions and the dependence on fossil fuels.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally was in China for the groundbreaking of a new engine assembly plant with local partner Changan Automobile Group, part of a $1.6 billion effort to build four new factories in China. Mulally expects China to play a key part in boosting Ford sales by 50 percent by 2015, and Ford’s Lincoln brand may become part of that strategy, as Chinese demand for luxury cars is rapidly growing.

[Source: The Detroit News]

CODA Automotive has opened its first consumer store in the Westfield Century City Shopping Center in Los Angeles, California, hoping to bring an innovative sales experience to their consumers. CODA Automotive is part of CODA Holdings, a California-based developer of advanced Lithium-ion power battery systems that are used to power their CODA sedan. The four-door, five-passenger, CODA EV features 134-hp and 221 lb-ft of torque with a range of around 150-miles.

The new CODA Experience Center stays consistent with the rest of CODA’s green mantra, building its 900 square feet store with eco-friendly materials that’s located near to a multiplex theatre, dining terrace and valet parking. The innovative store features an Electric Vehicle Bar where consumers can be educated on the benefits of electric cars; a Technology Display featuring a full-size replica and explanation of CODA’s battery and propulsion systems; and a Test Drive Check-in Counter that’s a one-stop shop for consumers to sign up for a test-drive.

CODA’s Experience Center isn’t just staffed with those knowledgeable about their EVs, but also how to setup your home for an electric vehicle and CODA also plans to host several events educating all nearby residents on the benefits of electric vehicles.

Audi‘s answer to BMW‘s i3 EV will be on display at the Frankfurt Motor Show, but they just couldn’t wait until then to show off what we can expect to see. Despite these photos being mostly computer generated renderings they give a good idea of Audi’s direction with their A2 Concept, which currently is rumored to arrive around 2015. Chances are, Audi’s electric subcompact will focus more on luxury and fuel economy than BMW’s i3, and its styling definitely takes on Audi’s traditional cues.

Currently the A2 Concept is powered by an electric drivetrain featuring an 85kW engine with lithium ion batteries to shoot 199 lb-ft of torque to the front wheels. It will be able to travel around 125-miles on a single charge and will take around four hours to charge back up. Rumor has it that it’ll have a top speed of 93-mph and a 0-60 time in 9 seconds. Not too shabby for a high-tech EV.

The grand debut will happen next week, so stay tuned for real, genuine photos of Audi’s A2 Concept at AutoGuide’s Frankfurt Auto Show page here.

GALLERY: Audi A2 Concept

Nissan has announced it will launch the all-electric Nissan Leaf ahead of schedule in the city of Chicago, citing popular demand as well as preparedness by the city.

Last February, Gov. Pat Quinn announced that $1 million would be invested to install state-of-the-art charging infrastructure for electric cars throughout the Chicago area. The City of Chicago matched the investment with an additional $1 million for the project to implement 280 EV charging stations.

“Illinois is laying the groundwork for electric vehicles, and our efforts are paying off,” Gov. Quinn said. “By investing in electric vehicle technology, both the State of Illinois and Nissan are making transportation in our state more efficient, sustainable and affordable.”

The City of Chicago has also spearheaded an aggressive infrastructure plan to add 73 DC quick charging stations and 207 Level 2 stations by the end of 2011. So far, 40 stations have been installed, but when complete, the system will provide the Chicagoland area with the most extensive infrastructure for electric vehicles in the U.S.

Volkswagen is set to unveil a single seat electric car at a special event in Berlin next month, as the company explores the future of mobility and personal transportation.

A VW spokesman confirmed that the vehicle would be shown at an event in Berlin on September 8th. VW said that the new car would surpass the previous XL1 concept unveiled in January. Volkswagen is hoping for battery-powered cars to make up 3 percent of sales by 2018.

[Source: Automotive News]

Ford is taking advantage of their Facebook page by asking their fans which of the four possible warning sounds that will be used in the upcoming Focus electric vehicle is their favorite.

All four sound clips are hosted on YouTube and feedback on their comments page will be used by Ford to help choose a sound. If you want to voice your opinion on what obnoxious sound you’ll be hearing from Ford’s Ford electric vehicle – as mandated by law – head on over to their page and put in your vote.

[Source: Ford Facebook via CNet]

Mitsubishi is becoming much more aggressive regarding future EV sales in its home market of Japan. Currently Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV sells for 3.98 million yen which equals $49,200. Government subsidies bring the price down a million yen equalling $36,900. The i-MiEV’s chief rival, the Nissan Leaf costs 3.76 million yen which equals $46,500 before subsidies and is the more popular choice compared to the Mitsubishi.

However, Mitsubishi will slash a million yen off the i-MiEV’s retail price to improve sales, bringing down the price to around 2 million yen or $24,700. The big savings are coming from a smaller battery. The existing model was good for 160 km (100 miles) per battery charge whereas the new model can only travel 120 km (75 miles). The Leaf can achieve only 100 miles per charge.

Prices in the United States are much cheaper, with the 2012 i-MiEV selling for $27,990 before the Federal $7,500 EV tax credit and state incentives. California and Hawaii go a step further with rebates, and in EV can be picked up for as low as $15,500 in these locales.

[Source: The Truth About Cars]

Nissan has launched a global proving test program for their compact electric commercial vehicle NV200.

The Japanese automaker began the test with Japan Post Service. The postal service will be provided with the NV200 to carry out postal collection for two months in Yokohama. The vehicle will be tested in real world conditions to help fine tune small aspects of the NV200. Testing will begin soon in Europe with the vehicle as well.

The testing on this vehicle is vital as it will serve as the next generation New York taxi. The vehicle has been present in Japan and European markets since 2009 and the van has won numerous awards.

“The role that can be played by zero emissions vehicles in promoting a balance between economic growth and environmental protection in the realm of logistics is large” said Nissan Corporate Vice President Hideto Murakami, who is responsible for the Global LCV Business Unit. “We will certainly reflect the customer feedback gained from these proving tests in our future product development, and I expect that our commercial electric vehicles based on the NV200 will contribute to our customers’ business and to the development of a sustainable society”.

Evidently, the third time wasn’t the charm for Think, the Norwegian manufacturer of small electric vehicles. The company has gone bust for the fourth time in its 20 year history. Think attempted to restructure, but was ultimately not successful.

“We needed some additional funding and although we had interested investors they were not able to come to table quickly enough,” Think spokesman James Andrews said to Automotive News Europe. Think will either be sold or have its assets liquidated.

Production of the Think City, the company’s sole model, was suspended in March. Just 1,043 were sold in 2010. Think was sold by Ford Motor Co in 2003 and has sold ever since. Think operates in North America, but its future is in doubt due to its reliance on the firm’s Norwegian operations.

[Source: Automotive News]

Tesla Motors has planned to begin building prototypes of its Model S electric sedan in the third quarter at the NUMMI plant located in Fremont, Calif, which was acquired from Toyota last year.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated the project will involve a $500 million investment. The Model S is slated for production in mid-2012 while the Model X crossover will launch in late 2013.

There are already 4,600 reservations for the Model S and the company plans to produce 20,000 Models S and X vehicles annually. Both vehicles will be priced around $50,000.

Tesla also has plans to produce its Gen III vehicle which will cost $30,000 and should debut in four to five years according to the CEO.

The current Tesla Roadster is built from Lotus’ chassis, however production will end at the end of 2011 because Lotus will no longer be building the chassis upon which the Roadster is based. The next generation Roadster will be produced at NUMMI and should arrive in three years.

[Source: Car Tech]

General Motors may be testing the EN-V mobility concept vehicles in its Detroit hometown. GM North America President Mark Ruess said that Detroit would be a “perfect” area to test the futuristic machines.

EN-V, known as the Electric Networked Vehicle, is GM’s answer to changing transportation in traffic choked cities such as Tokyo. The vehicle is a battery-powered with two-wheels and seats two. The EN-V can reach speeds of 25 mph and can drive itself and communicate wirelessly with other EN-Vs to avoid crashes. The vehicle debuted in 2010 at the Shanghai Auto Show.

Ruess said the timing is right because the infrastructure for the vehicle could be installed alongside a light-rail line and a possible high-speed rail connection, proposed for Detroit.

There may also be a possibility of of testing the vehicles on military bases and senior-living communities, according to Chris Borroni-Bird, director of GM’s EN-V program. However, Ruess made it clear that GM does not have official plans to test the vehicles in Detroit. If plans become official, GM would enlist corporate and government help.

He said: “It would take unprecedented effort with unheard-of levels of cooperation between business and government.”

[Source: Car Tech blog]

The Nissan Leaf became the first EV to get a five star crash test rating from the Euro NCAP program, after scoring well in all categories involving passenger safety, on-board safety systems and pedestrian safety.

Also notable was the car’s lithium-ion battery system, which according to Nissan “completely withstood all the impacts.” “The Nissan Leaf proves that EVs can achieve the same safety levels as traditional cars. The standard is now set for the next generation of such cars on the European market,” said Euro NCAP Secretary General Michiel van Ratingen.

The Leaf scored better than the Volvo V60, the Lexus CT200h and the Ford Focus for pedestrian safety. The Leaf scored 65 percent on the pedestrian safety test, better than the 60 percent required to gain a top score in the category.

[Source: Autocar]

Ford Motor Company Chairman Bill Ford (great-grandson of Henry Ford) revealed to Fortune magazine that his namesake automaker will apparently launch a global line of electric vehicles, with 25 percent of Ford’s lineup available with some degree of electrification by 2020.

Ford cited the electric Focus and both plug-in and fully electric versions of the C-Max as the start of a shift towards electric vehicles as a viable alternative to gasoline powered passenger cars, but the surprising nugget of information within the article was Ford’s calls for government involvement in the propagation of electric vehicles.

“I think it’s a matter of national security to have a competitive American battery industry,” said Ford. “Washington should increase R&D spending here unless they want to cede the development of batteries to other nations.” Ford cited China as the most imminent threat, as they have made significant strides in lithium-ion battery technology, and Ford fears that America will fall behind in one of the most important emerging industries.

Furthermore, Ford also laid out a vision for future cars that is heavily reliant on smart-phones, WiFi and GPS technology, which would enable cars to talk to one another and share information on traffic jams and other pertinent data, all in the name of eco-friendliness.

[Source: The Globe and Mail]

It was only a matter of time before the rich and famous began hopping on the Chevrolet Volt bandwagon, since the Toyota Prius is in imminent danger of becoming passé.

The Volt has found owners among luminaries like Jeff Gordon, Jay Leno, Stephen King and Alyssa Milano. ”I think it’s a great car,” said Leno in an interview with the LA Daily News. “I just like its environmental technology and it is American technology. I like the fact that it’s electric when you want it and gasoline (assisted) when you need it.”

GM previously enlisted other celebrities like Bill Nye, host of a popular children’s science program, to critique the car before it entered production. President Barack Obama also took the car for a famously short drive down the assembly line, but has yet to make the switch from his Cadillac limousine.

[Source: Inside Line]

Volkswagen will partner with Chinese automaker FAW to launch a new brand, which will build and sell electric cars for Chinese consumers.

Plans were submitted to the Chinese government, although details of the vehicle weren’t publicly disclosed. Honda, Nissan and General Motors have recently expanded into creating their own Chinese market brands in partnership with other Chinese automakers. China’s government is encouraging these partnerships in order to allow their own domestic automakers to gain experience in developing new cars.

[Source: Automotive News]

The Dacia Logan, intended to be sold in world markets as basic transportation, was never supposed to come to America, but somehow, 41 Dacia Logan station wagons found their way to Iowa, sans drivetrain.

The fleet of Romanian-built compacts, engineered in collaboration with Renault, came without VINs as well, since the cars were intended to be converted to electric vehicles. The project seems to have gone belly-up, and the cars are now being auctioned off on Ebay at a starting price of $4,500. Buyers have the option of purchasing a single car or buying in bulk, although registering the cars for road use will undoubtedly be more trouble than its worth.

[Source: Bring A Trailer]

Land Rover South Africa has taken the brand’s iconic Defender off-roader and converted one to run on fully electric power, with an 80 horsepower motor good for 63 miles of silent, emissions free driving at speeds of up to 37 mph. The Defender EV also retains a full four-wheel drive system despite its electric drivetrain.

While these numbers may not be too impressive in the real world, this Defender is meant expressly for use in Safaris, and Land Rover claims that the vehicle’s range is sufficient for 8 hours of driving in these types of conditions. The Defender EV is expected to debut at the Indaba festival in Durban, South Africa this month.

[Source: Auto Express]

With the Nissan Leaf beginning to outsell the Chevrolet Volt, the competition between the two is heating up, and General Motors North America President Mark Reuss had some not-so-nice things to say about the car when asked for his thoughts.

Reuss said that the Leaf was “…has a finite range and requires infrastructure and charging to run it, where the Volt is really an extended-range electric vehicle. The Volt can really be the only car you own. You better be living within a certain range for the Leaf. … It’s a lot different market, a lot different car and a completely different driver.”

While Reuss’ comments are technically correct – the Leaf has a limited range and is ideal for those who drive short distances – the car is one of the first steps on the way to viable, long range electric vehicles. Just like the first laptop computers had poor battery life, were clunky and performed poorly, but have now come into their own, we think that electric vehicles will follow a similar trajectory. Hopefully General Motors will recognize this and help progress the Voltec propulsion system accordingly.

[Source: Nashville Business Journal]

Mapping out electric car charging stations onto an open source format like Google Maps seems like something totally self-evident, but the Department of Energy and Google are undertaking an official initiative to overlay EV charge points onto of a mapping application.

The project will be known as the GeoEVSE forum, and comprise of a database of 600 charging stations, which allows users to search by location, charger type and payment methods. Private companies like BestBuy are also getting on board, and the various entities involved hope that the project will help further public trust in electric vehicles and the surrounding infrastructure.

The Mitsubishi i electric vehicle will start at $20,490 after a federal tax credit, coming in at nearly $5000 less than a Nissan Leaf.  The $20,490 sticker price is for a base ES model, while the upgraded SE trim with an 8-speaker 360 watt stereo, leather wrapped steering wheel, 15″ alloys and fog lamps will cost $22,490.

Mitsubishi will also offer an option packing for $2,790 that features a DC quick charging port, allowing the car to recharge to 80 percent battery level in 30 minutes. Other features include a navigation system, backup camera, steering wheel audio controls and a FUSE hands-free system.

Customers will be able to order their i starting on April 22nd via Mitsubishi’s online ordering system. Potential buyers will then have to PayPal $299 for a refundable deposit, and $99.99 for a home inspection fee (waived for the first 2,000 customers) to make sure their home can handle EV charging equipment. Once this process is complete, customers will be able to take delivery of their car as soon as it reaches our shores in November, 2011.

Ford has released a list of 25 cities in the United States that it labeled “electric vehicle-ready”, with the 20 initial roll-0ut markets for the Ford Focus E.V. listed, as well as 5 other cities, Baltimore, Dallas, Hartford, Honolulu and Charlotte.

Ford declined to rank the cities, instead listing them in alphabetical order, but said that cities on the list were working to help make it easier to install charging systems and offering incentives for charging your car during off-peak hours. Ford expects about 20 plug-in vehicles to be on the market by 2012, and believes it will sell “thousands” of Focus EVs.

The cities listed by Ford include Atlanta; Austin, Dallas and Houston in Texas; Baltimore; Boston; Charlotte and Raleigh in North Carolina; Chicago; Denver; Detroit; Hartford; Honolulu; Indianapolis; Los Angeles, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento in California; New York; Orlando, Fla.; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; Richmond, Va.; Seattle; and Washington.

[Source: New York Times]