An organisation in Finland is looking to make an electric car out of the greenest vehicle on the road: yours.
Working on the basis that the most environmentally acceptable car is the one that’s already been built, the Electric Car Now! initiative plans to electrify used cars by replacing the internal combustion engine with a lithium ion battery and electric motor. And all for the cost of a new family car.
Initially the scheme is just looking at converting used Toyota Corollas, but the organisers say it could eventually be adapted to suit most used cars, providing there’s enough space under the bonnet.
Since announcing the idea back in February, the non-profit ECT! reckon they’ve found the 500 customers they need to make the conversions financially viable and are confident of delivering the first electric Corollas by the end of the year.
The Toyota was chosen chiefly because of its ubiquity and its interior space. Jiri Rasanen, director of the Finnish Electric Vehicle Association and a driving force behind the scheme, explains: “In 2008, nowhere in the world is it yet possible for consumers to freely purchase a modern, full-specification, fully electric family car at a reasonable price. This is a situation we intend to correct.”
The price for conversion is reckoned to be about £14,400, minus £400 after they’ve sold off the old engine, starter motor, alternator and other recyclable parts. Blame the cutting-edge lithium-ion batteries for the steep price: they cost £9600 for a pack big enough to give a range of 100 miles.
Both the electric motor and batteries will be designed to fit under the Corolla’s bonnet, while their similar weight cuts out the need to stiffen the suspension. If you’d prefer a 200-mile range, then an estate version of the Corolla will be adapted to fit extra batteries in the boot.
With the prototype still being built, performance figures are only estimated, but the efficiency of the lithium ion batteries has let ECT! claim “the top speed will be a little less than a petrol model, but acceleration will be slightly better”.
The Finnish initiative clicks neatly into a wider Scandinavian plan for more electric motoring. An energy company in Denmark is planning to install a network of 20,000 car recharging stations by 2010, while Sweden is aiming for oil-independence by 2020. Meanwhile Norwegian company Th!nk has finally got the hi-tech, two-seat City on its wheels for a London launch at the end of the year.