Peer peers into future of electric vehicle
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IN EVERY major category of electric vehicle design (battery, motor, controller and charger) Britain is ahead of the foreign competition, according to Lord Ironside, president of the Electric Vehicle Association.
Speaking at Drive Electric 82, organised by the Electric Vehicle Association and Eastern Electricity, Lord Ironside stressed that there is still "plenty of design stretch" left in the conventional lead/acid battery in spite of all the future predictions concerning the sodium/sulphur type.
He suggested that lighter lead/ acid batteries giving a range of 70 miles plus between charges would be available within the next three years.
This compares with the range of 20 miles for the original electric-powered Walk-Thru and the 50 miles (with a maximum speed of 40 mph) for the present electric 50 Series.
Lord Ironside criticised the Japanese electric vehicle industry for being "hell bent" on reducing the size of the motor even if this meant a reduction in efficiency at low speeds.
"We think lightweight motors are a dead loss" he said.
In Lord lronside's view the latest high efficiency charger developed by Chloride, which gives a claimed 10 per cent "fuel" saving, is the electrical industry's answer to the latest improvements in the internal combustion engine.