International Auto Makers Electrify Australian Auto Show

The Australian International Motor Show gets off to an electrifying start this month with GE Capital Finance announcing plans to buy at least 1,000 Renault electric vehicles in Australia by 2015, as part of its global commitment to purchase 25,000 EVs worldwide.

Audi nearly stole the show with its surprise Australian debut of the e-tron, a high-performance sports car concept with an all-electric drive system.

Audi e-tron nearly steals show.

However, GE’s hookup with Renault Australia and California EV-infrastructure firm Better Place sparks the most interest with a series of strategic announcements they say signal the dawn of a new era to make EVs a mass-market reality for Australians.

GE Australia & New Zealand “Ecomagination” Director Ben Waters says EVs and energy distribution represent two key platforms of the companies’ joint strategy in Australia, which together offer a sustainable low-carbon solution for transportation mix in the country.

“Together, Better Place and GE aim to move electric vehicles from anticipation to action,” Waters says in a statement. “We look forward to being an early adopter of electric vehicles in this country.”

At the show, Renault Australia Managing director Justin Hocevar unveiled the first Fluence Z.E. to be seen in Australia. It is the world’s first electric car with battery-switching technology, he says.

Hocevar says the combination of the 5-seat Fluence Z.E. and the Better Place charge-spot network and battery-switch stations brings electric motoring within the reach of a large proportion of the Australian driving public at an affordable price.

In addition to its tie-up with Renault and Better Place, GE also says it is joining EV Engineering in a project designed to advance Australian EV engineering. The effort includes industry-leading partners such as Air International, Bosch, Continental and Futuris.

“It is clear that the transition to electric vehicles in Australia has momentum, and it is accelerating,” says Better Place Australia CEO Evan Thornley, who notes the economic fundamentals make the move to electric inevitable.

Concept PX-MiEV features Mitsubishi’s latest EV and plug-in technologies.

“As petrol prices continue to rise over time and battery prices continue to fall, this compelling logic will accelerate the transition to zero-emissions electric cars on Australian roads.”

Better Place’s national charge network rollout starts in Canberra later this year, followed by Sydney and Melbourne. The Fluence Z.E. arrives in the middle of next year.

“A progressive national infrastructure rollout will give Australia the largest electric car charging network anywhere in the world by the end of 2013,” Thornley says.

Keeping with the electrification theme, Mitsubishi’s Concept PX-MiEV makes its Australian debut, as well, offering the latest EV and plug-in hybrid technologies, the company says.

The auto maker says by using differential motors and its all-new Super All Wheel Control, the PX-MiEV utilizes the company’s electric-powered Active Yaw Control, which transfers torque to the rear wheels.

Powered by the new Mitsubishi plug-in hybrid system, which significantly extends the frequency a hybrid vehicle is driven in EV mode, the PX-MiEV returns fuel economy in excess of 118 mpg (50 km/L).

Volvo Cars uses the Australian show to draw attention to the issue of EV safety by displaying a Volvo C30 Electric that has undergone a frontal collision test at 40 mph (64 km/h).

“The C30 Electric offers the very same high safety level as a C30 with a combustion engine,” says Safety Strategy & Requirements Senior Manager Jan Ivarsson. “The front deformed and distributed the crash energy as we expected. Both the batteries and the cables that are part of the electric system remained entirely intact after the collision.”

Ivarsson says Volvo’s research emphasizes the importance of separating the lithium-ion batteries from the car's crumple zones and the passenger compartment.

In the C30 Electric, the batteries are fitted in the traditional fuel tank position and in the tunnel area. The batteries are robustly encapsulated; the beams and other parts of the car's structure around the battery pack are reinforced; and all the cables are shielded for maximum protection, Volvo says

The crash sensor in the car also controls the fuses, and power is cut in 50 milliseconds in a collision by the same signal that deploys the airbags. The system has several fuses that cut directly if a fault is detected, such as a damaged cable coming into contact with the body frame.

In a conventional car, the combustion engine helps distribute the incoming collision forces. In the C30 Electric, this task is performed by a reinforced frontal structure that also helps absorb the increased collision energy created as a result of the car's added weight.

Volvo Cars' Special Vehicles Director Lennart Stegland says the C30 Electric now is in production and initial deliveries to leasing customers, mainly companies, authorities and governmental bodies, will take place starting later this month.

The car is recharged from a regular household power socket and a full recharge takes about seven hours. The operating range is up to 93 miles (150 km), with a top speed of 81 mph (130 km/h.

The C30 Electric is being built on the regular assembly line at the Ghent factory in Sweden and then transported to nearby Goteborg for installation of the motor, batteries and other model-specific electronics. About 250 cars will be built by the end of 2012, possibly more if market interest takes off.

Audi insists its e-tron concept is poised to become a synonym for advanced electric mobility and the auto maker’s commitment to an electrified future. Four motors, two each at the front and rear axles, drive the wheels. Producing 308 hp, the 2-seater accelerates from 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.8 seconds.

The Li-ion battery provides a range of about 154 miles (248 km). The top speed is limited to 125 mph (201 km/h), as the amount of energy required by the electric motors increases disproportionately to speed.

Audi says in a statement there still is a lot of work to do before electric cars are ready for volume production, but it is meeting those challenges. “The e-tron forms the basis for the Audi R8 e-tron, a fully electric supercar that goes into production late in 2012.”