Electric Vehicles
Feds Buying Electric Cars
Three announcements this week could give a big push to electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Two of the Ram PHEV pickups presented to officials in Yuma, Ariz. (Photo By: Alexis Duron/City of Yuma)
The federal government said it will buy 101 Chevrolet Volt PHEVs to add to its fleet, along with 10 Nissan Leafs and five Think City cars, both of which are all-electric. In a May 24 announcement, the General Services Administration said the 116 cars should annually save about 29,000 gallons of gasoline.
Twenty federal agencies will use the cars, and GSA will add charging stations in the five cities where the vehicles will be stationed: Detroit; Los Angeles; San Diego, Calif.; San Francisco; and Washington, D.C. The cars will move the federal government toward its goal of having its entire 600,000 vehicle fleet comprised entirely of alternative fuel vehicles by 2015.
On May 25, Chrysler delivered 10 PHEV demonstration models of its Ram 1500 pickup truck. Another 130 are on the way, but in a statement, the automaker stressed that for now “there are no plans for a production version.”
The trucks come with a 12.9 kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery pack and a 6.6 kilowatt on-board charger.
Yuma, Ariz., became the first of a dozen cities to receive the trucks. Eight went to the police department, while the utilities department received two. They will be tested for three years.
“Cities have been carefully selected to help the Chrysler Group collect a wide range of data,” said Abdullah Bazzi, senior manager of Chrysler’s advanced hybrid vehicle project. “Temperature extremes found in the cold of North Dakota or the heat of Arizona can have a severe impact on battery life and charging efficiency.”
Also on May 25, the federal government unveiled the new fuel economy stickers that will begin appearing on 2013 models. Officials called it the biggest overhaul to the labels since they first appeared some three decades ago.
Among the changes, the stickers now include information for buyers of electric cars, including the charging time and driving range. Prospective buyers will also see an estimate of how much gasoline or electricity is required to drive 100 miles.
“These labels will provide consumers with up-front information about a vehicle’s fuel costs and savings so that they can make informed decisions when purchasing a new car,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
Tags: Electric Vehicles