Is Maryland ready for electric vehicles?
Government and electric vehicle promoters think so and are pushing for electric vehicle development and sales both state- and nationwide.
“We certainly think Baltimore would be a good place to sell electric vehicles,” said Richard D. McGraw, chairman of the board at Zenn Feel Good Cars, based in Toronto, Canada.
McGraw said his company would begin shipping a limited-range electric vehicle to the United States by the end of July or early August.
The two-seat Zenn Feel Good Car is pitched as an urban, city vehicle because of its current limited range of 25 miles and top speed of 25 miles per hour, McGraw said.
Electric vehicles have regained interest among consumers and fleet owners shocked by rising gasoline prices, said Shefali Ranganathan, a policy analyst with the Environment and Energy Study Institute in Washington, D.C.
The institute is a nonprofit organization promoting renewable energy, global climate chance, bio-fuels and other environment-friendly policies.
Currently, the organization is pushing plug-in hybrid electric/gasoline vehicles.
The vehicles would run on both a conventional gasoline engine and an electric motor powered by a battery.
To recharge the battery, the vehicle would be plugged into an electrical supply, Ranganathan said.
Power supply would be different from the Toyota Prius hybrid sedan and Ford Escape hybrid sport utility vehicle currently on sale, she said.
Instead of switching between the gas motor and the electric motor as the vehicle accelerates, plug-in hybrids would rely on the electric motor until the battery is completely discharged.
Then power would come from the gasoline engine, Ranganathan said.
Currently, DaimlerChrysler is field-testing a version of its Dodge Sprinter van with the plug-in hybrid technology.
“There is interest from other manufacturers,” Ranganathan said.
Also on tap is an electric vehicle called the Miles ZX40 that starts at $15,600 and slated to go on sale by the end of August at Foreign Motors on Belair Road in Baltimore, said Scott Donahoo, owner of Foreign Motors.
The ZX40 has a range of about 40 miles and a top speed of 25 miles per hour.
Donahoo said the ZX40 is more appropriate for fleet buyers, such as universities or municipalities. They could be used by security patrols or meter maids, for example.
He hopes to sell a consumer electric vehicle called the Miles XS200 in 2008 that will sell for $28,500 and has a range of 200 miles and a top speed of 80 miles per hour.
More details
» Electric vehicles are considered neighborhood and city vehicles not appropriate for highway driving, Zenn Feel Good Car said.
» The vehicles plug into conventional home electric outlet and can take up to eight hours to recharge.
» Miles ZX40 is made in China
