Ev'ie is powerful alternative to petrol cars

Apr 30 2009 by Iain Laing, The Journal

The UK's first four-seater electric car, with a range of 60-70 miles, was launched yesterday.

But the 60mph vehicle, called the Citroen C1 ev’ie and made in Bedfordshire by the Electric Car Company, will set purchasers back £16,850.

The C1 ev’ie can be fully charged in 6-7 hours from a domestic 13-amp socket at a cost of around 90p, with ECC saying that it will make an ideal city car for either professional or domestic use.

The company expects to produce around 500 of the C1 ev’ies over the next 12 months, rising to between 2,000 and 4,000 in 2010, depending on demand and Government support.

Citroen UK managing director Xavier Duchemin said: “We are committed to providing greener alternatives for motorists and are delighted to be supplying ECC with C1s for this exciting project.”

ECC chief executive David Martell said: “We believe this is the first serious alternative to a petrol or diesel car.

“It drives just like a petrol car and has excellent capacity for use in any town or city in the UK.”

Japanese carmaker Nissan, which employs more than 3,000 people in its plant in Washington on Wearside has said it will launch a battery electric vehicle in the United States and Japan in 2010.

Two years later, Nissan’s electric cars will be made available to the mass market globally.