Citroen C1 ev'ie: Zero Emission Electric Car

Motoring Channel Staff - 1/May/2009

London, England – The U.K. is fast becoming one of the pioneering countries for electric car development.

While demand for electric vehicles is increasing rapidly in Europe and America, most major car manufacturers are still at least two or three years away from offering electric vehicles.

This is providing energy storage and battery companies a niche market all to themselves as demand for zero emission personal transport increases.

Citroen isn't expected to offer an electric car until 2012, but the Electric Car Corporation (EEC) has already come up with a conversion kit for the C1 compact car.

EEC will charge customers in the U.K. £16,850 which is about $34,000 in local currency, for the electric version of the Citroen C1, a compact car that is slightly smaller than the Toyota Yaris.

If a similar sized electric car was offered in Australia today for around $30,000, it would be a sellout.

Named the Citroen C1 ev'ie, the zero emission electric car removes the 50kW 1.0-litre combustion engine and replaces it with a 30kW electric motor.

The 4-seater vehicle's cluster of lithium-ion batteries live underneath the hood, where the engine would normally reside, and also in place of the fuel tank.

EEC claims that the C1 ev'ie has a top speed of 60mph (96km/h) and has a range of around 60 to 75 miles, which between 100 and 120km/h.

It may cost double the price of the standard Citroen C1, but EEC claims it costs around 90p per charge to travel around 100 kilometres, which converts to around $1.80 in Australian currency.

Charging time for the zero emission vehicle is 6 to 7 hours from a regular 13 amp wall socket, the kind which you plug normal appliances or computers into.

EEC says that it will build around 500 of the C1 ev'ies in the coming 12 months and expects demand to rise, building up to 4,000 units by 2010.

There is a growing market for this kind of retrofitted vehicle as more drivers look at reducing their fuel bill, their carbon footprints, and their reliance on foreign oil.

It's only a matter of time before an Australian company begins modifying current cars with zero emission electric motors.

When the proposed electric car network is implemented in Australia's east coast cities, scheduled for 2012, the electric car will be a must-have product in this country.

Related Links:
- Australian Electric Car Network (2012)
- Citroen DS Inside Concept (2009)
- Citroen GT Concept (2008)
- Citroen Hypnos Concept (2008)
- Citroën C-Airscape Concept (2007)
- Citroën C6 (2006)
- Citroën C-Métisse (concept)