Electric Vespa Gets Real: Production Set to Begin

The electric Vespa first broke cover at the 2016 EICMA show, with plans to begin production in 2018. Well, it’s 2018, and Vespa’s parent company, Piaggio, has been true to its word. Meet the new-for-2019 Vespa Elettrica, set to begin production next month!

Pricing hasn’t been specified, but remember that this is the same company that decided on a $15,000+ out-the-door price for a special edition Armani version of its flagship scooter. Which is to say: it’ll be pricey. Other than that, it should be more than quick enough to win a few stoplight drag races and have enough range for its target, urban audience. Check out the official press release, below, for more details, then let us know what you think of this slick electric scooter in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Piaggio Group: Vespa Elettrica to go into production in September

Milan, Italy — Staying true to the programs presented at the most recent EICMA, the Piaggio Group will start production of Vespa Elettrica in September. The long-awaited electric version of the world’s most famous and beloved scooter will be produced at the Pontedera plant in the province of Pisa, the same one where Vespa first rolled off the line in the spring of 1946 and that today is one of the world’s technological leaders in terms of design, development and production of advanced mobility solutions.
The first vehicles will already be possible to book at the beginning of October and only online on the dedicated website, with innovative all inclusive financing formulas that will join the conventional purchasing systems. The price will be in line with the high-end bracket of the Vespa range presently being marketed.
Vespa Elettrica will then be gradually put on the market starting from the end of October to reach full marketing in November to coincide with the 2018 Milan EICMA show. Sales will begin in Europe to then be extended to the United States and Asia starting from early 2019.
Vespa Elettrica is but a first step for the Piaggio Group in the direction of a new richness of interconnection between vehicles and human operators. Vespa Elettrica will be ready to be fitted out in the near future with solutions currently being developed for Gita, the robot currently on the drawing board at Piaggio Fast Forward in Boston (which will be entering production at the beginning of 2019), such as artificial intelligence systems both adaptive and responsive to all human input. They will be aware of people and other vehicles operating in the vicinity, extend the operator’s ability to sense potential perils and opportunities, and provide real time mapping and traffic data that contributes to improving the design of transportation infrastructures in cities. Most of all, these new generation vehicles will thoroughly know their operators: they will recognize them without key fobs, anticipate their driving choices, interact with other devices and vehicles on the road and allow for degrees of personalization that can barely be imagined today.
Vespa Elettrica is launched as the contemporary icon of Italian technology around the world. By adopting electric drive, Vespa once again strongly makes a name for itself as a symbol of style combined with the best of innovation. Vespa Elettrica is not just a new electric scooter. It is a work of art of our day, with a technological core that is born carrying with it all the values of the world of Vespa, its image, its social and eco-friendly soul, now even more sensitive to the quality of life of our urban environment.
Vespa Elettrica means riding easy, natural. It means advanced connectivity and silence, personalization and accessibility, values that have always belonged to Vespa and that today have been totally achieved in Vespa Elettrica.
The Vespa brand today is experiencing one of the most successful moments of its history, with over a million and a half vehicles sold during the last decade. The first half of 2018 closed with about a 10% increase in sales volumes compared to 30 June 2017.

Source | Images: Piaggio Vespa.

Yutong places 47 hydrogen fuel cell buses

Chinese manufacturer Yutong is placing 22 hydrogen fuel cell buses into service in Zhengzhou (two now, 20 to follow) as well as the first batch of 25 units to Zhangjiakou.

As the host city of the 24th Winter Olympic Games, Zhangjiakou aims to create a green winter Olympics and is committed to taking the lead in applying leading-edge hydrogen fuel cell buses. The delivered vehicles are the 3rd-generation hydrogen fuel cell bus independently developed by Yutong.

The vehicle features a 500-kilometer (311-mile) driving range and only 10~15 min hydrogen refueling time. The vehicle can achieve startup at the temperature as low as -30 °C, which is well adapted to cold weather.

As of July this year, the reliability verification mileage for Yutong hydrogen fuel cell buses has exceeded 90,000 kilometers, effectively verifying the reliability of fuel cell system, hydrogen system, DC/DC voltage converters and integrated vehicle control.

In addition, the vehicle has been fully upgraded with a 360° surround view system, air suspension system, barrier-free access and more.

The buses are equipped with four hydrogen leakage sensors. When the hydrogen concentration reaches 1.6%, the alarm is triggered. When it reaches 2%, the hydrogen supply will be cut off, and the alarm on the dashboard will alert the driver to take corresponding measures as soon as possible.

In addition, the vehicle is also provided with two sets of video surveillance systems, and totally seven cameras are available to provide an overall surveillance so as to ensure the safety of the vehicle.

Dethleffs New Self-propelled Electric Camper Wows in Düsseldorf

You may recall last year the release of Dethleffs E.Home electric motorhome. The first-of-its-kind all electric camper was a veritable mobile solar generating station that would get you well over 100 miles out of the city, and charge itself while you camped for the trip back. Now the new towable E.Home Coco caravan trailer joins Dethleffs’ growing stable of ways to save and see the environment at the same time.

Just like its larger sibling, the E.Home Coco comes with a bank of solar panels for recharge and power availability on the go. This tow trailer has a neat trick, though. It is self-propelled, meaning smaller and more eco-friendly vehicles can handle the caravan. Dethleffs is aiming for an all-electric camper experience, and the electric powered Coco can be towed by vehicles like the BMW i3.

The 80kw battery pack and twin 40kw motors on the split axel paired with a load-limiting tow tongue mean that the tow vehicle experiences only around 220lbs of tow force at a maximum. No need for a gas guzzler to pull this puppy. Electric vehicles towing the Coco will see far less range loss, meaning a trip to the country and back can be done without any range anxiety.

The perks don’t end on the roadway, either. Those solar panels mean your morning green juice is as easy as plugging in the blender, and Dethleffs has played with features like wireless phone chargers and photoelectric window shades in the past meaning going green at the campground likely brings more comfort as well. In addition, an accompanying app can even take advantage of the torque vectoring of the trailer to park itself in a tight campsite with the touch of a screen.

Interestingly, this little trailer has one more trick up its sleeve as well. Once at home and plugged in, the trailer can function as an emergency power bank in case of a power outage or as solar energy storage for charging your daily driver, further reducing emissions by keeping electric vehicles off the grid and charged up.

There are still improvements to be made, as in the coming year Dethleffs plans to further reduce workload on the tow vehicle to improve range and reduce strain. The vanilla version is out now, and hopefully, soon this concept will be a reality on the campgrounds of America.

Source | Images: Dethleffs, NewAtlas