Brazilian automotive company OBVIO! will develop and introduce lithium-ion-powered electric cars based on its 828 and 012 microsport car designs (earlier post) for export to North America.OBVIO! has a strategic partnership with California automobile distributor ZAP (who also markest the Smart Car in North America), which has agreed to be the exclusive North American distributor and has pre-purchased 50,000 OBVIO! units.
The initial versions of the 828 and 012 car designs will be flex-fueled, and will go into production in 2007. The 828E and 012E - the EV versions of OBVIO!'s two models - will not be far behind, according to OBVIO! President Ricardo Machado.
It is clear to me that electricity has a big future in the auto industry. OBVIO !’s business model of 100 percent outsourced supplier relationships allows for the speed and flexibility to incorporate a new drive system powered by electricity by our second model year.The preliminary specifications for the OBVIO! electric cars include a range of 200 to 240 miles, with acceleration from 0 to 60 mph of less than 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 120 mph. A 39 kWh lithium-ion battery system will power the 120 kW (160 hp), 220 Nm (162 lb-ft) electric motor.
[Image: The OBVIO! 828]A full normal recharge will take five hours, with a fast charge taking two hours. A 30-minute quick charge will provide a 20 to 50 mile range.
OBVIO! is also providing a bi-directional vehicle-to-grid (V2G) interface.
Target prices for the 828E and 012E are $49,000 and $59,000 respectively.
[A hat tip to Green Car Congress]
zap already shipped 200 cars to US
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Right, they shipped 200 smarts, but not the OBVIO! designs that this article is focused on. Those won't hit the U.S. for a while.
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