REVA Electric Car Arrives in Chile as Alternative to Pollution, High Petrol Prices
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 08. 5.08
Photo: Infobae.
The electric company Cam (a branch of Spanish Endesa) has just launched the Indian electric car REVA in Santiago de Chile. We've told you about this small car before, when back in 2005 we talked about a video blogger who was sharing his experience owning a REVA.
The car is a two-door model that works totally on electric energy, gets 80 kilometers of autonomy in one charge, reaches a maximum speed of 80 kilometers an hour, and can accommodate two adults and two minors or up to 230 kilograms of total weight. According to information published by EFE news agency, in Chile it will be sold at six million local pesos, which is about 12,000 US dollars.
More on the car and why Santiago needs to cut on emissions in the extended.
Infobae via El Blog Verde.
The REVA electric car battery and developments
The REVA's battery can be plugged into any power source and is charged up to 80% in two and a half hours and up to 100% in eight hours. It has a capacity of 600 cycles of charge and discharge. It's estimated that it has to be changed every three years and costs about 1600 US dollars to change.
Both mentioned sources informed the car's manufacturers are developing a model with capacity for four adults and maximum speed of 120 kilometers an hour to be launched next year.
Santiago de Chile's contamination
The news of the launch of the REVA car in Santiago comes a few weeks after air-contamination in the capital of Chile peaked and the government had to call for emergency measures to control the pollution levels (see our coverage in the post Chile Fights Critical Air Pollution in Santiago). According to Infobae, 70% of the pollutant emissions come from vehicles in the city.
The same source also says the electric car pretends to be an alternative to the rising prices of petrol, since Chile imports 94% of the petrol it consumes and the transport sector represents a third of the energetic consume of the country.
Links:
REVA India
Sources:
Infobae: Compact, Electric and 80 Kilometers an Hour (Infobae, in Spanish).
REVA: A zero emissions electric car arrives in Chile (El Blog Verde, in Spanish).
In TreeHugger: More on REVA and electric cars
Video Blogger Shares his Experience with REVA Electric Car in London.
REVA Electric Car Company Receives $20m Funding.
Green Basics: Electric Cars.
How to go green: Cars.
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- New REVA Electric Car Boosts Range and Speed
- "Don't be surprised to see an electric Lotus shortly"
- Quick Green Investing Tips for 2009
- BYD Delays Sale of Electric Cars in North-America to 2011
Nigel's Green Web Awards Laud TreeHugger, Others
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These have gone on sale in Ireland as well. The only one I have seen was on a flatbed truck outside a garage. I think it belonged to a radio station.
While electric cars are a small step to relieve the problem has anyone thought about what will happen with all the dead batteries. How will we dispose of them , while hydrogen car parts can be recycled easier and reused.
Also part of the pollution problem in Santiago is that the city is surronded by a mountain range which holds the pollutants within the city. But at least they are taking small positive steps to solve the problem.
very good for india.
I'm from Kerala, India. Our postal department has taken to the Reva as their mode of transport. Though it is not much popular with the general population, it serves the purpose. The only challenge is the danger posed by other (bigger) vehicles..... :)
John - Santiago has the Andes on the East and the Pacific ocean on the west. They are not surrounded by mountains.
@john - Recycle the batteries.
I think electric cars should get exemptions for safety requirements IF the buyers will sign a LEGALLY enforceable waiver. The most unsafe electric car is more likely to protect the occupant than a bicycle or motorcycle rider. You can say "thrown free" all you want and I can retaliate with barbed wire, broken glass, fence posts, signs, barricades, curbs, dumpsters, etc…
The more in this world the better.
I wish the US government was able to see these as an alternative to mopeds and motorscooters, and allow the Mid Speed category to be created with a 35 to 45 mph speed capability. (My ride to work on a small Kawasaki gets really cold in the winter!) There are already a couple of NEV's that could be reprogrammed to go fast enough to replace a gas burner for local driving for a great many people.
Don't miss this footage of the crash performance of this car.
I don't think that anyone would want to sacrifice all safety features for a little bit of carbon emission or fuel cost savings.
State of the art emissions controls of standard IC engine vehicles can very significantly reduce the emission of smog-forming chemicals. Hauling batteries around with you will almost certainly have no chance of competing with electrified rail infrastructure in terms of efficiency...
The newer model of this car is supposed to be better, but I would want to see convincing evidence that this is NOT the deathmobile it once was before I set foot in one. With a low profile and silent operation, this is asking to be hit by a careless driver.
We, Japanese Comapny, have fuel saver kit which
is patented in Japan already. We want to sell in
USA market, because USA have number one car,s
quantity in world. So, we think we should sell in
your coutnry. In Japan, we sold already
800,000 pcs. There are lots of fuel saving kit, but,
only this item - we call RunSTAR is patented in
Japan. We donot register in USA, yet, but, if you
think and if you can introduce some reliable
company who can import our RunSTAR from
Japan. You will please study and kinldy advise
me. Thanks
Harry Iohara
Y. Iohara & Co., Ltd. - Nara City, Japan.
Mobile: 81-90-4644-2288
This is very exciting to see so many countries take initiatives to curb the use of fossil fuels. However I sometimes feel there are to many distractions for true renewable energy.
With the electric car we do have the issues of battery disposal.
Then we have all of the coal fired power plants responsible for providing the needed enrgy to charge these little cars. Imagine if every American purchased one of these. How huge would the increased need for electricity be? To large to conceive it becoming atrue alternative.
Our goal needs to be zero emissions or as close as possible. That technology is available. Let's focus on what will truly make a difference.
This car cost less than USD 6000 in India!!!!
Why this company sell it in USD 12000 and more.
Is not for all people here in Chile.