With the kind of troubles Tata is having in its own country, right now relocating to Norway completely seems a better option for Tata! Not that they are going to do it, but the way much famed Nano is struggling to get past the political hurdles, it is wise indeed of Tata to try and expand its international market with a new green car. Tata intends to soon sell an ‘all-electric’ car exclusively in Norway and the car is rumored to be based on the design of the Indica V2, which is already in use and powered by fossil fuel.

Tata previously announced that they were looking for ways to electrify the Nano. And concurrent with the Indica announcement, they also brought forward plans to create another electric car, the Ace, but details were scant. The Indica is being developed by Tata and a Norwegian firm. The car will be sold solely in Norway first, but Tata has plans to sell it in India as well at some point of time.

The car though will have the already pretty common Lithium-Ion technology at its heart and promises close to a range of 200km and an 8 hour charge period. While this might not really shatter any existing electric car records, it is nice to see a clean new car for the tranquil environment of Norway. At the end of the day, every ounce of Carbon emissions saved is a boon to an ailing planet!

Via Fashionfunky / Cleantech

The scene is going to change on roads in a couple of years. In 2011 one will see Pivo 2, a robot-assisted, electric car on the streets of Portugal. Nissan showcased the PIVO2 Electric Concept Car earlier this year at the Geneva Motor Show. The cute looking somewhat bubble shaped car in sparkling blue color was first introduced in the year at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show and seen then, the company has refined the car design and its capabilities to its present day state. Now, with last week’s announcement it seems the car will finally be launched commercially in Portugal in 2.5 years time by Renault and Nissan. The country has agreed to pep up its efforts in installing up a large network of electric charging stations for the yet to be launched bug-like car.

Pivo 2 is a 3 seater with lithium-ion batteries that infuse power in this electric vehicle. The car is fully rechargeable off household current and possesses regenerative braking system. Its cozy-looking passenger cabin can rotate whole 360 degrees as also the wheels, which can turn a full 90 degrees to facilitate flexible maneuvering during parking. Robot assisted Pivo2 can thus be sneezed in the tightest of all parking lot corners!

A single entry/exit door along with the rotating cabin allows the passengers to exit from the side of the vehicle. While what I love the most in Pivo 2 is its design, I’m amazed to learn that through a communicating robotic instructor the driver can control the car’s different functions. The robotic instructor uses voice and feature recognition technology to sense the driver’s mood! Now hold on guys before you become a green-eyed monster getting jealous over the luck of Portuguese people, Nissan wishes to sell electric cars globally by 2012. The company is embracing green technology and is thus launching an aggressive drive to produce and popularize electric vehicles amidst concerns of global warming and skyrocketing gas prizes. Well, I’m impressed. What about you?
And by the way, there’s another version of blue Pivo2. It’s a white one! Check it out here.

Via TreeHugger

Bicycle enthusiasts, here’s a piece of good news for you all. Come Aug20, 2008 and you can lay your hands on the Lithium Vivi RX-10S-an electric bicycle capable of recharging a Li-ion secondary battery. The bicycle will be released by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd. It uses a regenerative braking system to recharge the lithium-ion battery. This kind of braking system when applied on downward slopes boosts the cycle’s assisted travel range significantly. The figures change from 90km without using the system to 125km with the use of the regenerative braking system! Wow, it sure seems this sleek bicycle is a promising one among the plethora of eco-friendly electric vehicles.

The major change incorporated here, to utilize the regenerative braking function on Vivi RX-10S is that the motor is mounted on the front wheel now. Whereas, in the existing models, it was located on the pedal shaft. Besides this, the new bicycle also comes with an Automatic Mode. The latter selects the assistance force in four levels automatically. These levels are in accordance with the riding condition viz. “high,” “medium,” “low,” and “off”.

Now some info about the battery as well:
· It uses a Manganese -based positive electrode.
· Weighs about 2.5 kg.
· Has a rated voltage of 26 V.
· Bears a current capacity of 10Ah and a volumetric energy density of up to 400Wh/L.

So, now you can recharge not only your own battery but the bicycle’s battery aswell with this soon-to-be available model in the market. Expected price is ¥150,000 (US$1,395). The price may vary from country to country.

Via Techon