China BAK to supply additional 1,000 Li-ion battery packs to Chery for M1 EV

China BAK Battery, Inc. announced a new contract to supply high-power Li-ion batteries to Chery Automobile.

Under the contract, China BAK will deliver 1,000 lithium-ion high-power battery units in 2012 to power Chery’s Ruilin M1 electric cars. The new contract is in addition to China BAK’s previously-announced contract with Chery, entered into in February 2012, to supply 100 high-power battery units to Chery, which are on schedule to be delivered by June 2012.

The Ruilin M1 is one of the five electric vehicle models that have been approved for government use since early this year.

China BAK will hold a joint press conference with Chery in mid-April in Tianjin. At the press conference, Chery and China BAK plan to announce a long-term cooperation program in the electric vehicles industry.

Introducing the Chery Ruilin M1 EV Featuring Lithium Ion Batteries

Chery Automobile Co., Ltd. officially launched its first Li-ion battery-powered EV, Ruilin M1, powered by a Li-ion phosphate battery pack from China BAK, at the 25^th World Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exposition (EVS).

The electric M1 has a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph) and can cover 150km (93 miles) on a single charge.

In addition to the Ruilin M1, Chery also presented four other new EV solutions powered by China BAK’s lithium-ion phosphate batteries, including Ruilin X1, Chery A5, Ruilin G5 and an additional model of its M1 series.

Currently, we are the only lithium-ion battery supplier to power Chery’s electric vehicles and will continue to expand our cooperation with Chery. In the future, we anticipate revenue and market share growth from our EV business as we gradually increase production of our high-power cells to meet anticipated market demand.

—Xiangqian Li, CEO of China BAK

Chery uses a NiMH battery system from Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Solutions in the hybrid A5 ISG sedan.



Source: Green Car Congress

The Chery All-Electric Model S18 EV

A Gift Wrapped Chery S18 EV






Another Chinese alternate energy vehicle that we will probably never see in the United States is the Chery S18. This car has an amazing range of 93 miles on one charge and has a maximum speed of 75 mph. Chery has chosen a lithium ion phosphate battery with 13.4 kWh of energy and somehow is able to sell this auto for about $14,600.

The Lithium battery pack should cost this much, so they have obviously found a way to bring down their manufacturing cost considerably. This is desperately needed in the United States. Chinese automobiles have virtually none of the safety features required in the States which also explains the low MSRP of this vehicle.

Chery said the battery can be fully charged in four to six hours at a household electrical outlet. Specially designed charging devices let owners get the car 80 percent charged in only a half-hour. Besides Chery, nearly all of China's major automakers have invested heavily in new-energy vehicles. BYD launched the world's first mass-produced hybrid electric vehicle, the F3DM, in December.

Will we ever see anything like this car in the US? I certainly hope so but am fearful it cannot get here soon enough.