Aixam Mega, which is Europe’s largest supplier of ultra-light electric vehicles, (www.mega-vehicles.com) is preparing to boost production for the UK, European and North American markets, following a raft of initiatives by government and private sector groups designed to encourage adoption of electric vehicles to help combat climate change.
These initiatives include last week’s announcement in London by the new Zero Emission Vehicle Foundation of a campaign to put 20,000 electric vehicles on the city’s roads by 2012, and the UK government’s recent commitment to investing £100m in technology and infrastructure to make electric and low-carbon vehicles a practical choice for more people.
Since 1983 Aixam Mega has invested vast resources into the development of ultra-light vehicles (also known as heavy quadricycles), and it has a 40 per cent share of total European sales for this category of vehicle. It has also invested heavily in the development of electric vehicle technology, including the Mega City, designed specifically for the UK market.
The company has two large research and manufacturing facilities in France, 300 employees and produces 15,000 ultra-light vehicles per year. It has a wholly-owned UK distribution centre, for both the Mega City and the Mega Multitrucks (www.mega-electric.co.uk) range of commercial vehicles. Together these two brands have a 70 per cent share of the UK market for ultra-light electrics.
Aixam Mega’s UK general manager Lawrence Holland said that, while sales of electric vehicles have slowed during the recent economic downturn, they have been growing steadily over the years, and have bucked the trends affecting the wider automotive sector.
The company believes sales are set to take off in the light of national and international climate change programmes, and ongoing product development and vehicle production are being geared up to meet demand.
Lawrence Holland said: “Aixam Mega is fully committed to the development of electric vehicles, and believes that the future for ultra-light models is bright.
“The challenge that governments face now is to get electric vehicles onto the roads in numbers so that ambitious European and UK targets can be met. Mainstream car makers are a long way from having electrics ready for the market in volume.
“Aixam Mega, however, has well-proven technology available now, for private motorists and for the commercial sector, and we already have more than 1500 of our vehicles on the road.
“Aixam Mega’s products are niche vehicles designed for short-range, urban trips and frequent stop-start tasks, which represent a high proportion of trips in and around city centre locations. We are well-positioned to make our contribution to this step-change in thinking about vehicles and urban transport, right now, several years ahead of most other manufacturers.”
Mega vehicles can be fully charged from any standard electric power outlet in five to eight hours.
The Mega City has a range of around 40 miles on a full charge, depending on driving style and road conditions, and a top speed of 40 miles per hour, while Multitrucks have a range of around 60 miles and a top speed of 30mph. Both cost around 1.5p per mile to charge.
The retail price for Mega City two-seat models is £11,254, and £11,744 for four-seat versions. Mega Multitrucks are priced from £10,035 depending on battery pack and body configuration.
I think the Honda Clarity seems to be heading in the right direction.
For those who don’t know, a simple over-view is; The fuel cell combines hydrogen with oxygen to make electricity. The electricity then powers the electric motor, which in turn propels the vehicle. Water is the only byproduct the FCX Clarity leaves behind.
The cost to run this is not too dis-similar to that of refueling petrol in your car.
I don’t know of the manufacturing costs though? maybe that is where things become unstuck….
Hi Chris,
As far as I understand, the difficulty is actually in getting the hydrogen. Whilst it’s extremely abundant in the universe, it is actually quite problematic in retrieving it in environmentally sustainable ways (much of it now is, ironically, produced using fossil fuels).
As the technology isn’t yet mass market, it’s also extremely expensive to produce everything from the batteries of the car to the pumps etc. It’s all economies of scale.
Due to this, manufacturing costs will only go down if a) people see these cars as a viable alternative b) the vehicles themselves are at a lower price (sold at a loss perhaps?).
I agree with you though, the Honda Clarity looks like it could well be a way forward.
These electric vehicles would be a great way to lessen pollution so it is best if more manufacturers would make electric cars. However, the prices of these cars should go low or else people would find it hard to buy it.