Electric Cars in Pilot Program Fare Well in Frigid Conditions
Published: 17.02.2012 09:53
Photo: ERR
Most of the electric cars provided to social workers under the KredEx electromobility program rode out the cold snap fairly well.
The Kalda day care centre in Tartu has 17 of the cars and three went out of service during the cold weather, said director Annika Sõna.
She said that the charge did not last long, but in the autumn weather the cars ran for two or three days before needing to be recharged. She said they were told about this quirk of battery-powered cars before the vehicles arrived.
The network of chargers will start to be developed this year by ABB. There will be 160 of them and it should take 20 to 30 minutes to charge an empty battery to the 80 percent mark.
The cost of operating an electric car is expected to be four to five times cheaper than conventional cars, though the increased insurance costs (because of the higher market value of the cars) eats some of the savings up.
Spring will bring a wider selection of makes, including Nissan and Renault.
Kristopher Rikken