Fiat Brazil to Produce an Electric Car
By Bill Siuru
Fiat Automóveis, along with Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais (CEMIG) and Itaipu Binacional, have developed the Fiat Palio Elétrico. Plans are to produce an initial 30 all-electric cars for the electricity generating giant, Cemig, to show Brazilians that EVs are viable in Brazil.
Developed with the technical help of Magneti Marelli in Brazil and Centro Ricerche Fiat in Italy, Palio Eletrico uses nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) batteries supplied by KWO in Switzerland. They power a 20 horsepower (15 kW) electric motor that’s sufficient to drive the 1320 pound car up to 65 mph. With regenerative braking, the Palio has a range of better than 80 miles.
Just over 360 pounds of batteries are located near the spare tire beneath the floor of the trunk. This, plus the car’s 92 pound motor, provides a better front/rear weight distribution than the 1.0 liter version of the Palio upon which the Eletrico is based.
Batteries are recharged via an electric plug connected to a 110 or 220 volt household wall socket. Batteries are heated to 518 degrees F before charging starts, which can be done in short bursts without any damage to the batteries. Future technology improvements could reduce the current eight hour recharge time. Batteries have a rated life of 100,000 miles. The NiMH batteries will be partly recyclable and partly biodegradable.
The conventional gearshift is replaced with a three-position lever for drive, neutral, and reverse. A new instrument panel provides information on battery life, load, and temperature. The brake servo is electrically operated.
As costs come down through volume production and as advances in technology occur, Fiat and its partners project that electric cars will become economically feasible and more widely accepted by Brazilian car buyers, perhaps in the 2011-2012 time frame.
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