The Future of Electric Cars

Electric cars are coming. This article from southern China is a fascinating look into how new technologies breakthrough the old paradigms and change whole industries.

Wang Chuan-Fu started BYD (the letters are the initials of the company's Chinese name) in 1995 in Shenzhen, China. A chemist and government researcher, Wang raised some $300,000 from relatives, rented about 2,000 square meters of space, and set out to manufacture rechargeable batteries to compete with imports from Sony and Sanyo. By about 2000, BYD had become one of the world's largest manufacturers of cellphone batteries. The company went on to design and manufacture mobile-phone handsets and parts for Motorola (MOT, Fortune 500), Nokia (NOK), Sony Ericsson, and Samsung.

Wang entered the automobile business in 2003 by buying a Chinese state-owned car company that was all but defunct. He knew very little about making cars but proved to be a quick study. In October a BYD sedan called the F3 became the bestselling sedan in China, topping well-known brands like the Volkswagen Jetta and Toyota (TM) Corolla.

BYD has also begun selling a plug-in electric car with a backup gasoline engine, a move putting it ahead of GM, Nissan, and Toyota. BYD's plug-in, called the F3DM (for "dual mode"), goes farther on a single charge - 62 miles - than other electric vehicles and sells for about $22,000, less than the plug-in Prius and much-hyped Chevy Volt are expected to cost when they hit the market in late 2010. Put simply, this little-known upstart has accelerated ahead of its much bigger rivals in the race to build an affordable electric car. Today BYD employs 130,000 people in 11 factories, eight in China and one each in India, Hungary, and Romania.

Not only is he pursuing a technology that changes the market place, he's doing it faster and bolder than anyone thinks is possible. We can all learn from his example. In addition, its worth noting that electric cars are coming, so think about making your solar system larger to account for what could soon be an added demand.

Read the full article here.

Solar Powered Electric Car

E2Sys has a solar powered electric car. We don't have solar panels on the roof (yet) but we do charge it from our solar and wind array.

This thing is excellent for getting around town. It cruises at 30-35 mph, and I can drive about 20 miles on a charge. More if I drive really slowly (20mph) and less if I really step on the accelerator. It takes around an hour to get a decent charge, but a full charge takes in the range of 6-8 hours.

The model is the E4, by Gem car. It was made in 2005 and has been modified to have larger wheels and a larger motor. (All the way up to 7.5 hp!)

Legally, these cars, known as Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) aren't allowed on roads with a speed limit of more than 35mph. That means I have to plan my route carefully to make sure I don't run out of battery or get pulled over somewhere I should be. Luckily, the north fork is ideal for getting around on the backroads and ducking in and out of town.

This will be the perfect addition to Team E2Sys for the summer. Hope to see you driving around town.