Some of the world's largest automakers are spending billions of dollars developing their all electric vehicles, but it appears the smaller companies are the ones winning the race to the market. On the upper end of the scale we have already seen electric sportscars such as the Fisker Karma and Tesla Roadster and they will soon be joined by the British made 700bhp Lightning GT. But now consumers are demanding an all electric powered vehicle for the average joe and with this first image of the Ze-O all electric MPV, NICE Car Company are looking to fill that huge hole in the market.
The Ze-O is no concept! When unveiled at the British Motor Show later this month, we will be seeing the model in full production form. Plans are to start sales this Autumn in the UK with Europe set to receive the model in 2009.
“All-electric sports car prototypes are eye-catching and interesting,” said Julian Wilford, co-founder NICE Car Company. “However, we all know customers want practical electric cars and they want them sooner rather than later. The Ze-O is a genuinely spacious and affordable car. We expect to be very busy at the motor show.”
The Ze-O does however fall short on some performance figures many consumers will crave, the top speed lies at a rather disappointing 55mph and the range of the battery on a single charge is just 65 miles. This does of course restrict the usefulness of the electric vehicle but the £14,000 price tag will still bring in the punters.
- First picture of £14k, all-electric MPV from NICE Car Company
- To be unveiled at British International Motor Show on 22 July 2008
- Neither a concept nor prototype; the Ze-O is coming to Europe this year
Affordable, practical, with low running costs and zero emissions; NICE Car Company today presents the first image of the all-new Ze-O. Making its global debut at the British Motor Show next week, this MPV is the first all-electric car available within a family budget.
“All-electric sports car prototypes are eye-catching and interesting,” said Julian Wilford, co-founder NICE Car Company. “However, we all know customers want practical electric cars and they want them sooner rather than later. The Ze-O is a genuinely spacious and affordable car; it’s coming to the UK this Autumn and to the rest of Europe during 2009. We expect to be very busy at the motor show.”
Styled in Europe and manufactured by NICE’s partners in China, the entry level Ze-O will have a range of up to 65 miles in city driving and top speed of 55 mph. Optional, longer-range lithium-ion battery options will be available soon. Emissions free, the car will be exempt from road tax, congestion charge and boasts running costs of a few pence per mile. That’s a fraction of the cost of a conventional petrol or diesel model.
Full details of the Ze-O and other models in the NICE Car Company family, will be revealed on the stand; N25, North Hall, London ExCeL, on 22 July 2008.
The NICE Car Company press briefing takes place at 2.15 pm. But come along anytime. To arrange an interview with NICE co-founders1 Julian Wilford or Evert Geurtsen
But honestly, who would even consider the Ze-O appealing? It's a carbon copy of a Chinese supermini. What blasphemy! They steal our car designs, and now we're stealing theirs! It's like inbreeding. This incestuous excuse for an automobile is an undeveloped notion; to offset the shortcomings of EV technology, it has to appeal to the public in more ways than simply having a novel power train. There are so many things these engineering firms do not understand about marketing and selling a good idea, which is upsetting with as powerful an idea as EV technology.
As I've said on many occasions, to succeed, a concept has to capture the imaginations of the public. When an idea enters the public consciousness and remains there, quantitative shortcomings like top speed and range become less the point, and the idea will carry its own momentum far into the future. This example, unfortunately, falls flat on its stupid-looking face.