Wanxiang Will Relaunch Fisker In America, Then China

With failed hybrid carmaker Fisker in one corner, and battery maker A123 Systems in the other, China’s Wanxiang is poised to take on Tesla. For Wanxiang’s CEO Lu Guanqiu though, this is about more than business, it’s about a lifelong dream that may play out over generations.

But as Forbes reports, Wanxiang is going to fight Tesla using the same tactics as Elon Musk. Mr. Lu will be starting his electric car ambitions in America before coming home to China, which is expected to be the largest market for EVs by 2020. With Tesla’s roll out of the Model S in China running into roadblocks that include a lack of charging infrastructure and customers irate over delivery delays. It’s far from the smooth rollout that Tesla had in Europe, and it will take years to cover the country in Superchargers the way America is now connected.

That leaves the door open for Wanxiang to restart Fisker production at a factory in Delaware, bringing the brand back to life here in the U.S. Once production is restarted, development of the Fisker Atlantic can be finished and the cheaper plug-in hybrid can be brought to market.

The next step? Take Fisker (or whatever it ends up being called) to China, where sales of electric and plug-in cars are expected to explode. Tesla has done the same thing, though Wanxiang’s CEO  seems determined to make-it-or-break-it, saying he will spend “every cent” into making electric cars. Could the Fisker Karma and Atlantic end up as electric cars instead of hybrids?

With the plan to relaunch the brand within the next year, we don’t have long to wait.

Source: Gas 2.

Nissan LEAF Replacement Battery Priced At $5,499

Replacement batteries for the Nissan LEAF electric vehicles are now available through authorized Nissan dealers. The price is $5,499, including a credit of $1,000 for the return of the old battery, and trading in the old battery is a requirement of purchase.

The new batteries are the same as those used in the 2015 LEAF and incorporate everything Nissan has learned since it first brought the LEAF to market 4 years ago. It also comes with a new warranty of 8 years/100,000 miles. Known as the “lizard battery”, it takes advantage of internal changes that make it more tolerant of high temperatures. Some customers living in hot climates have complained that their batteries have degraded rapidly and Nissan has taken steps to address those concerns

While Nissan is supposedly working on a 150-mile range version of the LEAF, these batteries are rated for 84 miles per charge. Owners of 2010-2012 model year cars will be required to purchase an adapter kit to retrofit the new batteries to their cars, and there is also an installation charge set by the dealer for the exchange. The process requires about 3 hours to complete.

Now that Nissan has established a price for the replacement batteries, it is possible to calculate the cost per kilowatt hour, which works out to be $270/kWh. That number is considerably lower per kWh cost when the LEAF was introduced in 2010, so greater volume is in fact driving down the cost as anticipated.

The company is finalizing the details of a financing program to make the purchase of new batteries affordable for owners, and Nssan expects the monthly cost under that program to be about $100 per month.

Source: Nissan

The Toyota i-Road - Fun Packed - Video

There have been long-standing concerns that high fuel costs could one day force everybody into driving tiny pod cars instead of the hulking SUVs and pickups America enduringly loves. If the tiny pod cars of the future end up anything like the Toyota i-Road, you can sign me up right now, because it looks fun as hell.

All-electric and with just enough space for two passengers and a few grocery bags, the Toyota i-Road recently began limited trials in Tokyo…and it legit looks fun. It swoops and slices across the road, and even though it isn’t going fast, the active suspension system leans into the turns, allowing it to change direction in a snap. To be specific, the turning radius is…wait for it…less than three feet.

Not only does it look fun, but in a crowded city like Tokyo, it is super convenient as well. You can park almost anywhere, just jump in and go, and not have to worry about being rained on like motorcyclists and scooter drivers are. The three-wheeler looks far more appealing than GM’s EN-V pod vehicles.

The best part though is that it returns a sense of “driving” to the car experience, as you’re not insulated from the road by a massive machine. Instead, you lean with the i-Road, and you have more control on the overall experience than you’d find in almost any other production car. As long as Toyota could keep it affordable, I’d say the future is bright for a production version of the i-Road.

Source: Gas 2.