Miles Electric Vehicles

There's been a lot of buzz about the Tesla, especially since the release of the documentary "Who Killed The Electric Car".  But Tesla's not the only one working on EVs.  Sure, they're the only one working on creating the electric alternative to your Ferrari, your Lamborghini, your (insert sports car name here).  But for those of you looking for an alternative, Miles Electric may be for you.

 

Miles Electric currently offers low-speed cars and low-speed trucks.  These are good options for people who take local roads (the high speed for some Miles vehicles is 25 MPH) and don't too far (the low-speed vehicles range from 40-60 miles).  But if you're not included in that category, you'll be happy to know they are working on a high-speed sedan.  The XS500 has a high speed of 80+ MPH and a range of 120+ miles.  It will be charged by any standard 220 V wall socket.  And the rumor is...it will be affordable!  That's right.  According to AutoblogGreen, the car should cost under $30,000. 

Very exciting stuff. As excited as I am about the Tesla, it has been experiencing delays in trying to get a viable electric car launched. When are these guys going to be road ready?

 

Has anyone seen/driven one yet? We need to get some pages created for them in the Huddle!

 

According to an interview from the end of October 2007 (at Green the Capitol Office Expo), the XS500 should be released sometime late next year (2008).  Hopefully it doesn't get caught up with delays!

Looks like the folks over at Miles Electric were a little overly ambitious when they said their highway speed sedan would cost about $30,000.  This comes from Sam Abuelsamid over at AutoblogGreen [emphasis mine]:

 

"In spite of all the attention that Tesla has drawn in the electric vehicle space over the last two years, few of us will ever be able to afford a Roadster or the WhiteStar. One ray of hope that many have been able to hang onto for an affordable all speed electric car was the XS500 from Miles Automotive (previously known as the Javlon). Unfortunately it starting to look like that car won't be much more affordable than a WhiteStar. Ever since Miles announced their intention to offer the XS500 they have been quoting a price of about $30,000 for the electric sedan that has the capability of traveling at highway speeds.

Miles has been working with the manufacturer to upgrade the power-train with items like an AC motor and lithium ion batteries. Also unlike Tesla they are not requesting a waiver on the advanced airbag regulation. All that stuff requires a lot of engineering which doesn't come cheap. According to Martijn Noordam at AllGreenVehicles, the European distributor for Miles, the XS500 should appear in early 2009 and the price will be approximately €40,000. At today's exchange rate that comes to about $58,750. That's not exactly mainstream affordable."

No word in this article from VentureBeat about the price of the highway ready Miles vehicle, but they're definitely raising the capital necessary to do something big...just secured another $15M in financing. I love that the Venture Capital community is getting behind cleantech in such a big way...definitely a great start to ensuring exciting and necessary innovation.

 

"Miles Electric Vehicle is a fairly well-known maker of low-speed electric vehicles, which are only good for short distances in small towns or inner city environments. However, the company plans on releasing a model that can reach highway speeds in late 2009.

The company has plenty of competition, but relatively few electric car startups have attracted more than small rounds of funding.

Miles is distinguished by the normal appearance of its cars (many electric cars look distinctly odd) and by its outsourced production, which is all done in China. The company has attempted to keep costs low, in contrast to Tesla, which spared no expense on its $98,000 Roadster.

Angeleno Group, a private equity fund, led the $15 million investment into the company. Miles is based in Santa Monica, Calif."

I saw a commercial for the new Chevy Volt concept car. It's electric and you have to plug this car in.

Electric cars that you plug in (plug in to the grid) are not exactly totally eco-friendly. Yes, they save a lot of gasoline. However, that energy has to come from somewhere. When you plug anything in, a lamp, your computer, or a car, the energy comes from your electric company ("the grid"). Most of the energy the electric company produces is from the burning of Coal.

40-60 TONS of Mercury is released into our environment (in the USA alone) every year, due to coal burning to generate electricity. Check out this link for more toxins related to burning coal.

So, how do you make an electric car totally eco-friendly?? Buy a solar panel for your home to hook the car up to for recharging. Now that's purely clean energy!

Another option, if your electric company offers clean energy options, then spend the little extra each month to help your electric company source from clean options such as wind, solar, or hydro powered energy.

Support Solar:

• http://www.gotmercury.org/
• http://www.gaiam.com/category/solar-living.do
• http://www.solarliving.org/
• http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/654310470
• http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/929038592

 Was this the commercial?

 

 

 

Edited by stins - Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:36:47 GMT

 

Yes, that's the one. Too bad they don't mention recharging the car from a solar panel. That would rock mucho!

I think the long-range Miles may be the most promising EV in the works.  It looks like a regular sedan, so it will appeal to the general public's aesthetics.  At $30-35,000 t's at the low end of the cost range of this class (comparable to Aptera and ZAP Alias), and it should be in production in 2009.  Plus Miles Automotive has already established itself with some similar short-range EVs.

 

I like the Aptera and Alias, but the Miles EV will definitely appeal to a wider range of consumers.

Edited by dana1981 - Sat, 08 Mar 2008 20:12:15 GMT

To reply to your post about 'how green is an electric car', well when you consider that an EV is 90% more efficient than a gas car, then even if every car on the road became electric, and plugged in, we'd see a decrease in oil use by 2/3rds, and 1/6th electricity increase. This was a very comprehensive study done by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (irecusa.org). So it would still be a massive decrease of co2 emissions. That said, grid energy is only going to rise, and I completely agree with your point on going solar! And that is exactly what we at EA are up to. Bringing solar systems paired with electric cars to everyone. Have a look: www.electric-avenue.ca Most importantly, if anyone would take