Electric Cars From Countries That Bathe In Oil

2023 Author: Natalie MacDonald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-26 13:59

Zero emissions for the sake of tax breaks, relatively cheap (for now) electricity and all kinds of subsidies from governments and municipalities - there are already enough arguments in favor of switching from a gasoline or diesel car to an electric one. This often turns out to be really beneficial, especially in countries that buy fuel abroad. But what kind of force compels people to spend millions of dollars on the development of electric vehicles where people wash with oil in the morning ?!

Iran Khodro RunnElectric

Iran is one of the largest countries in terms of both oil reserves and production. And the prices for gasoline are very low there. However, the global trend for electric mobility is reflected even in this country: Iran Khodro has announced the release of its first electric car.

The RunnElectric modification is based on the serial Runna sedan, which, in turn, is a redesigned Peugeot 206. The traction battery with a capacity of 30 kWh is located under the floor of the car. The front axle is driven by an electric motor that develops 122 hp. and 220 Nm of torque. The electric sedan can travel up to 220 km on a single charge.

The fact that the first Iranian electric car is built on the Peugeot platform is not surprising: the history of Iran Khodro's relationship with the French company began many years ago. The same Samand sedan, which was delivered to Russia from 2006 to 2009, was based on the Peugeot 405 platform - a car that, like the 206 now, was hopelessly outdated by that time.

Think Global

Norway is not only famous for its very harsh climate, but also produces a lot of oil. This, however, does not prevent the authorities from actively stimulating citizens to switch to electric transport. Already, "green" cars occupy about half of the new car market in Norway, and by 2025 it is planned to switch to electric transport completely. Moreover, this northern European country has experience in the development and production of its own electrical machines.

The Think Global brand appeared in Oslo in 1991, but the brand was originally called Pivco - which stands for Personal Independent Vehicle Company, and not as you might think. The body shell of the first PIV2 prototype was made of aluminum, and the body panels were made of polyethylene-based thermoplastic. The induction motor was powered by a nickel-cadmium battery and drove the front wheels. 10 of these cars were built for the Winter Olympics in Lilehammer, which took place in 1994.

Then there were a couple of subsequent generations of the electric car, the body shell for which was helped to create by Lotus engineers. There was a collaboration with Ford (the name was changed to Think at the suggestion of the Americans), and the final refinement of the Think City model, production of which started in 2005 … However, there was no demand that could ensure the existence of the company. Therefore, in 2011, the company began bankruptcy proceedings for the fourth time in its history.

Buddy

The Triple Buddy is another example of the Norwegian approach to urban electric vehicle design. The three-seater car is equipped with a 13-kilowatt electric motor and cannot travel faster than 80 km / h. Before becoming Buddy and acquiring Norwegian citizenship, such electric cars were produced in Denmark under the Kewet brand. Its founder, Danish Knud Erik Vastergard, traded in industrial washing equipment and pressure washers. But he decided to make his dream come true and start producing electric vehicles. A kind of Elon Musk from the country of Lego.

But this project did not achieve any outstanding success either. Several years ago, the company produced a few cars a week, and now, in addition to electric cars, it is engaged in car sharing services and assembles electric bicycles.

Zacua

The Zacu brand, originally from sunny Mexico, is a very important player in the oil market. The brand was born in 2017, and a year later the Zacu plant opened in the city of Puebla. The production volumes of Mexican electric vehicles are small, so their assembly is carried out in an almost artisanal way, with a large share of manual labor.

There are only two models in the line - MX2 and MX3. They differ primarily in the type of body, and the power plants are the same: a 34-kilowatt electric motor and a battery, the reserve of which should be enough for 160 km. The maximum speed is limited to 85 kilometers per hour. In Mexico, such electric cars cost from 440 thousand pesos. For comparison: a brand new Mini Cooper can be bought here for 550 thousand pesos.

ElLada

Against the background of "colleagues" from Mexico and Norway, the ElLad model, released by AvtoVAZ in 2011, based on the LadKalin station wagon, looks like the most practical car. But you probably noticed that the electric Lada has not yet filled the streets of Russian cities. Because the station wagon turned out to be too expensive: in 2013, before the famous jump in exchange rates, it was already estimated at 1.25 million rubles!

Why? Because most of the electrical filling in ElLad was imported: an electric motor and on-board electronics from Switzerland, traction batteries from China … In total, about a hundred electric Kalins were produced in Togliatti. A significant part was transferred to dealers - as they say in such cases, "to study the demand." It is known that the head of Rostec Sergey Chemezov and the Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov bought one copy each.

Five copies of ElLad were handed over to the Stavropol convoy. It was assumed that subsequently the fleet of electric taxis in the region of the Caucasian Mineral Waters would be brought to a hundred, but this did not happen. Yes, and the "test" five cars as of 2018 were no longer carrying passengers. It seems that they could not stand the competition.