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Daimler introduced its Smart ultracompact in China in 2008, though few of them can be seen yet on Shanghai streets. GM is not alone in viewing China as the market for tiny urbankas.
GM and its Chinese partner SAIC will showcase the "Electric Networked-Vehicle" launched Wednesday 24 March in their joint pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, which opens May 1 and runs for six months has demonstrated this Concept Car EN-V (pronounced as Envy).
With the trunk-less EN-V, GM has jettisoned the traditional "three box" system and gasoline-fueled engine in place of a pure-electric mini-vehicle meant strictly for city driving. Five fit in the parking space needed for one conventional vehicle, says Kevin Wale, president and managing director for GM China Group.
The 1.5 meter by 1.5 meter urbanka appears to build on GM's earlier work with Segway Inc. in developing the PUMA, or Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility vehicle. It will use the same types of battery cells as the Segway and the same battery supplier, Valence Technology Inc., said Christopher Borroni-Bird, GM's director of advanced technology vehicle concepts.
More to my expectation that BYD will likely work together with the major car players in the years to come for co-developing a greener type of new battery for supplying this Huge Demand on battery for the EV car market. This is my forecast of the battery maker in China as the current concern of battery is too heavy that kill the mileage of the EV car, and not sure how to re-cycle properly.
HK Snob
