AltCar 2011: Electric Mobile Cars is all crunked up with three fleet models

It's been a while since an all-electric truck has been for sale in the U.S. (RIP, Ford Ranger EV), so perhaps a zero-emission crunk is just what the market is waiting for. Electric Mobile Cars will soon find out, now that it is taking orders (fleets only) for its converted E36T (pictured).

EMC will sell three all-electric models, all with similar names: a passenger wagon (the E36, which sells for $39,300), a utility vehicle (the $38,300 E36V) and the E36T ($37,300). The truck is a converted Renault/Dacia Logan Pickup, which was introduced in Romania in 2008.

EMC says all three have a top speed of over 75 mph and a range of "up to 200 miles" using the company's EVBX-1 powertrain. This all-electric propulsion system is powered by 57-kWh worth of adapted ZEBRA batteries, and we have to say that these numbers are awful impressive. EMC's David Taylor told AutoblogGreen at the 2011 AltCar Expo in Santa Monica, CA, this weekend that the low-cost, long-range secret is the car's battery management system. The details are proprietary, but Taylor said the general idea is that the system can accept a higher regenerative brake energy level than other packs and the battery is able to recoup a "minute" amount of the heat expelled from the battery when it is in use. Will all this bear out on the road? We'll be watching.

Bill Williams, who used to be vice president of sales of ZENN, is now director of West Coast sales for EMC, and told AutoblogGreen that EMC is dedicating its efforts to fleet sales because that is how it can provide better service. All three models are available now, and Taylor said that the first deliveries are due by the end of October. The vehicles are available to fleets nationwide and the prices listed above are GSA pricing.



Source: Autoblog Green