EV-maker Eli launches its $11,900 electric micro ‘car’ in the US
Eli Electric, the manufacturer of the popular Eli ZERO electric microcar, announced this morning the opening of reservations in the US.
Microcars, often referred to as quadricycles in Europe and Low-Speed Vehicles (LSVs) or Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) in the US, are a niche category designed largely for urban travel. Many new automakers in the category have failed to gain traction, often selling mere dozens of units.
But the Eli ZERO has so far proven popular in the markets it has already launched in across Europe and Asia, with hundreds of models already on the streets (did I mention the ‘niche’ thing?).
Now the pint-sized EV maker is bringing the Eli ZERO to the US, opening up $200 refundable deposits to reserve the $11,900 vehicle. Deliveries are expected to begin in Q3 2024, so it looks like reservation holders won’t have to wait very long.
The model heading stateside is an upgraded version designed to meet the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s regulations for LSVs, allowing it to be street-legal at the federal level. That permits owners to operate it like a traditional vehicle, but only on roads posted up to 35 mph (56 km/h). In other words, most roads in most cities.
Eli has now boosted its production capacity to 4,000 vehicles per year and will use a dealership model to sell and distribute its ZERO vehicles in the US.
As the company’s founder and CEO Marcus Li explained:
“Our goal is to transform urban trips, empowering riders to reconnect with their communities through compact and agile EVs that allow for a better utilization of urban space, reduced congestion, ease of parking and ultimately an improved quality of life in cities. Introducing the Eli ZERO to the U.S. market, we’re not only riding the wave of an emerging mobility revolution, but also redefining personal vehicles in an innovative way that benefits both traffic and the environment.”
The two-seater vehicle features a rather large battery, at least by LSV standards. The 8 kWh LiFePO4 battery for the European model is rated for up to 60 miles (100 km) of range, but the company announced that the US model will receive an even higher range of 90 miles (145 km), presumably meaning the vehicle will feature a larger battery.
The 3.2 kW on-board charger can recharge the vehicle in under three hours on 240VAC, or under 5 hours on 120VAC.
The top speed is limited to 25 mph (40 km/h) to comply with federal regulations for the vehicle class.
In addition to two fairly traditional car seats, there’s a 160L (5.6 cubic feet) trunk for storage in the rear. That’s not exactly a huge trunk, but it’s not a huge vehicle, either.
The length of the ZERO is just 88 inches, which is actually shorter than the width of a GMC HUMMER EV. Not only could it park nose-in within the same spot a HUMMER parallel parks in, but you could fit nearly four Eli ZEROs in that same parallel parking spot. Or to translate that into something that actually matters to most people, you could park a ZERO in that corner “not a spot” at the local grocery store, daycare, yoga studio, or wherever else driving an SUV would be overkill.
While the Eli ZERO is not technically a car, it still features many car-level features such as heat and A/C, keyless entry and start, power steering, anti-lock brakes, electronic parking brake, rearview camera, radar sensors for parking, tilting sunroof, and an optional Sony infotainment center with CarPlay and Android Auto.
That means that it feels and drives more like a traditional car, at least until you hit the 25 mph speed limiter.
In addition to the current list of features, the company says that ahead of the official launch later this year, it will announce several innovative new features that “will be a first in the LSV industry.”
Electrek’s Take
In my opinion, the proliferation of LSVs in the US can not come soon enough! While there are a few options, they’re still quite limited in number and variety.
These handy vehicles are exactly what this country needs: the antidote for an epidemic of oversized SUVs and ego-extenders. Not only are they more convenient to drive and park in cities than full-size vehicles, but if the old adage about big vehicles being used for “compensation” is true, then there’s no better wingman than rolling up in a tiny car like this.
I actually had a chance to take one of the first rides ever in the Eli Zero before it began sales back in late 2021 while visiting Italy. I was surprised to see just how roomy it felt inside despite the small footprint of the vehicle. I took a more recent test drive the next year along with the company’s founder Marcus Li, who explained to me that it’s the transparent door design that helps create that spacious illusion, removing the cramped feeling that many micro-cars suffer from.
The funny thing here is that I can already tell you what the detractors are going to say: that it’s an overpriced, glorified golf cart. And I can already tell you how hilariously wrong they are. First of all, it’s cheaper than average golf cart these days (if you don’t believe me, do a quick internet search for golf cart dealers in the US and look at the shocking prices). And secondly, this is way nicer than a golf cart, offering features like air conditioning, parking sensors, and keyless entry/starting.
Sure, it’s not going to meet the needs of a family of four taking their kids to a soccer game in the next town over, but it’s not meant to. It’s meant for folks who just need a one or two-seater and live in a city. I’d already have my name on the list if I was in the US more often (it wouldn’t be my first or even my second micro-EV I’ve had in the US). I mean, why not? I’d have all summer to think of a way to justify it to my wife!
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Mining company Vale is turning to Caterpillar to provide this massive, 240-ton battery-electric haul truck in a bid to slash carbon emissions at its mines by 2030.
Caterpillar and Vale have signed an agreement that will see the Brazilian mining company test severe-duty battery electric mining trucks like the 793 BEV (above), as well as V2G/V2x energy transfer systems and alcohol-powered trucks. The test will help Vale make better equipment choices as it works to achieve its goals of reducing direct and indirect carbon emissions 33% by 2030 and eliminating 100% of its net emissions by 2050.
If that sounds weird, consider that most cars and trucks in Brazil run on either pure ethyl alcohol/ethanol (E100) or “gasohol” (E25).
“We are developing a portfolio of options to decarbonize Vale’s operations, including electrification and the use of alternative fuels in the mines. The most viable solutions will be adopted,” explains Ludmila Nascimento, energy and decarbonization director Vale. “We believe that ethanol has great potential to contribute to the 2030 target because it is a fuel that has already been adopted on a large scale in Brazil, with an established supply network, and which requires an active partnership with manufacturers. We stand together to support them in this goal.”
Vale will test a 240-ton Cat 793 battery-electric haul truck at its operations in Minas Gerais, and put energy transfer solutions to a similar tests at Vale’s operations in Pará over the next two-three years. Caterpillar and Vale have also agreed to a joint study on the viability of a dual-fuel (ethanol/diesel) solution for existing ICE-powered assets.
Vale claims to be the world’s largest producer of iron ore and nickel, and says it’s committed to an investment of between $4 billion to $6 billion to meet its 2030 goal.
Cat 793 electric haul truck
During its debut in 2022, the Cat 793 haul truck was shown on a 4.3-mile test course at the company’s Tucson proving grounds. There, the 240-ton truck was able to achieve a top speed of over 37 mph (60 km/h) fully loaded. Further tests involved the loaded truck climbing a 10% grade for a full kilometer miles at 7.5 mph before unloading and turning around for the descent, using regenerative braking to put energy back into the battery on the way down.
Despite not giving out detailed specs, Caterpillar reps reported that the 793 still had enough charge in its batteries for to complete more testing cycles.
Electrek’s Take
Electric equipment and mining to together like peanut butter and jelly. In confined spaces, the carbon emissions and ear-splitting noise of conventional mining equipment can create dangerous circumstances for miners and operators, and that can lead to injury or long-term disability that’s just going to exacerbate a mining operation’s ability to keep people working and minerals coming out of the ground.
By working with companies like Vale to prove that forward-looking electric equipment can do the job as well as well as (if not better than) their internal combustion counterparts, Caterpillar will go a long way towards converting the ICE faithful.
SOURCES | IMAGES: Caterpillar, Construction Equipment, and E&MJ.
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American mine; via NPROXX
Argonne National Laboratory is building a new research and development facility to independently test large-scale hydrogen fuel cell systems for heavy-duty and off-road applications with funding from the US Department of Energy.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) is hoping Argonne Nat’l Lab’s extensive fuel cell research experience, which dates back to 1996, will give it unique insights as it evaluates new polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems ranging from 150 to 600 kilowatts for use in industrial vehicle and stationary power generation applications.
The new Argonne test facility will help prove (or, it should be said, disprove) the validity of hydrogen as a viable fuel for transportation applications including heavy trucks, railroad locomotives, marine vessels, and heavy machines used in the agriculture, construction, and mining industries.
“The facility will serve as a national resource for analysis and testing of heavy-duty fuel cell systems for developers, technology integrators and end-users in heavy-duty transportation applications including [OTR] trucks, railroad locomotives, marine vessels, aircraft and vehicles used in the agriculture, construction and mining industries,” explains Ted Krause, laboratory relationship manager for Argonne’s hydrogen and fuel cell programs. “The testing infrastructure will help advance fuel cell performance and pave the way toward integrating the technology into all of these transportation applications.”
The Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) of DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is dedicating about $4 million to help build the new Argonne facility, which is set to come online next fall.
Electrek’s Take
It’s going to be hard to convince me that the concentrated push for a technology as inefficient as hydrogen fuel cells has more to do with any real consumer or climate benefit than it does keeping the throngs of people it will take to manufacture, capture, transport, store, house, and effectively dispense hydrogen gainfully employed through the next election cycle.
As such, while case studies like the hydrogen combustion-powered heavy trucks that have been trialed at Anglo American’s Mogalakwena mine since 2021 (at top) and fuel cell-powered concepts like Komatsu’s medium-sized excavator (above) have proven that hydrogen as a fuel can definitely work on a job site level while producing far fewer harmful emissions than diesel, I think swappable batteries like the ones being shown off by Moog Construction and Firstgreen have a far brighter future.
Speaking of Moog, we talked to some of the engineers being their ZQuip modular battery systems on a HEP-isode of The Heavy Equipment Podcast a few months back. I’ve included it, below, in case that’s something you’d like to check out.
SOURCES | IMAGES: ANL, Komatsu, and NPROXX.
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Velocity truck rental is doing its part to help commercial fleets electrify by energizing 47 high-powered charging stations at four strategic dealer locations across Southern California. And they’re doing it now.
The new Velocity Truck Rental & Leasing (VTRL) charging network isn’t some far-off goal being announced for PR purposes. The company says its new chargers are already in the ground, and set to be fully online and energized by the end of this month at at VTRL facilities in Rancho Dominguez (17), Fontana (14), the City of Industry (14), and San Diego (2).
45 120 kW Detroit e-Fill chargers make up the bulk of VTRL’s infrastructure project, while two DCFC stations from ChargePoint get them to 47. All of the chargers, however, where chosen specifically to cater to the needs of medium and heavy-duty battery electric work trucks.
The company says it chose the Detroit e-Fill commercial-grade chargers because they’ve already proven themselves in Daimler-heavy fleets with their ability to bring Class 8 Freightliner eCascadias, Class 6 and 7 Freightliner eM2 box trucks, and RIZON Class 4 and 5 cabover trucks, “to 80% state of charge in just 90 minutes or less.”
At Velocity, we are not just reacting to the shift towards electric mobility; we are at the forefront with our customers and actively shaping it. By integrating high-powered, commercial-grade charging solutions along key transit corridors, we are ensuring that our customers have the support they need today. This charging infrastructure investment is a testament to our commitment to helping our customers transition smoothly to electromobility solutions and to prepare for compliance with the Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulations.
David Deon, velocity president
Velocity plans to offer flexible charging options to accommodate the needs of different fleets, including both managed, “charging as a service” subscription plans and self-managed/opportunity charging during daily routes. While trucks are charging, drivers and operators will be able to relax in comfortable break rooms equipped with WIFI, television, snacks, water, and restrooms.
Electrek’s Take
While it feels a bit underwhelming to write about trucking companies simply following the letter of the law in California, the rollout of an all-electric, zero-emission commercial trucking fleet remains something that, I think, should be celebrated.
As such, I’m celebrating it. I hope you are, too.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Global Newswire; Daimler Trucks.
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