An Electric Car for the Rest of Us
Wednesday August 22, 2007
Miles Electric XS500
photo © Miles Electric
Until now. According to a CNNMoney.com report, Miles Rubin, founder of Miles Automotive Group, states that his newly designed all electric XS 500 will sell for $30,000, reach a top speed of 80 mph, and travel 120 miles at 60 mph on one charge. When the batteries are depleted, plug the car into a standard wall socket and six hours later she's ready to go again.
How can he sell these cars at such a relatively low price? One word: China. The cars will be built in China and powered by advanced lithium ion batteries developed by Chinese manufacturer, Lishen Battery.
It almost sounds too good to be true. Well, it almost is. While the promise is great, challenges remain. The car still needs to go through rigorous and exhaustive battery shakedowns, and then there's the hurdle of bringing it up to snuff in safety regulations for the U.S. market. If all goes well, the Company plans to have these vehicles available to the U.S. public sometime in 2009. We think that is a tall order, but we're hopeful and we eagerly anticipate the arrival of these little electric beauties.
Comments
Will this car be considered an American car since it’s being built in China? And are there any American car makers who are developing an electric model that would be affordable for the masses??
Since Miles is an American Company, it will be considered an American car much like the Toyota Camry is a Japanese car but is built in America. Small companies are starting to generate consumer interest and at some point we expect larger companies to take notice and offer affordable electric vehicles as well.
Phoenix Motorcars is another company that currently offers electric vehicles to fleets and will begin to offer some to residents in CA in mid-2008.
We’ll keep you updated as more vehicles become available!