China’s BAIC Shows Off EV Prototype

PARIS – Chinese auto maker BAIC Motor Corp. Ltd. shows a new electric vehicle prototype to Beijing’s governor, thanks to help from Valeo SA and two of its partners in a French consortium, motor maker Leroy Somer and axle maker GKN Driveline.

Details of the vehicle were not immediately available, but in a release Valeo says the demonstration car is the result of a contract signed in 2009 with BAIC aimed at bringing an electric vehicle to market in 2011.

Valeo says the system includes a synchronous permanent magnet electric motor, an inverter, DC/DC converter, transmission, charger and electronic control unit. It does not mention the battery, but says the BAIC car’s motor has “a large operating speed range.”

At the Paris auto show in October, Valeo demonstrated an electric drive train made with Leroy Somer and GKN Driveline. That partnership also included the Johnson Controls-Saft joint venture for the battery and Leoni SA for wiring.

The synchronous motor in the Paris vehicle – a transformed Citroen C3 Picasso – was said to turn at 10,000-15,000 rpm, while the wheels turned at 1,000 rpm at 62 mph (100 km/h).