The Nissan Leaf is battery operated electric car with a 100-mile range per charge.This 5-door,5-seat,hatchback has the right range for the people who drive under 100 miles daily, or for households with more than one car.Nissan will make another 50,000 LEAFs in 2012 and electric car plant in Tennessee in 2013.According to the US Environmental Protection Agency official the range of the vehicle is 117 kilometers with energy consumption of 756 kilojoules per kilometer.The leaf has a range of 175 km on European driving cycle.

As all electric cars the leaf also doesn’t have Tailpipe pollution or greenhouse gas emission.The leaf has a top speed of over 150km/h.Its motor is rated at 80 kilowatts (110 hp) and 280 Newton meters (210 lb.ft).Unofficially the car has been tested at 9.9 seconds.The leaf uses an advanced telemetric system called “crawings” which was originally used in Japan before it was decided to commercialize globally.Crawings technology sends and uses data via built in GPRS radio similar to the connectivity of mobile phones.When crawings come in the range of a cell tower,it makes possible several user functionalities such as position and possible range on map and the charging stations near by within the range of the map. Initially the cars sales started from Japan and in 2010 it got commercialized globally.Now the company plan to enter new markets like Switzerland,Spain,Belgium and Norway.Since July 2011,5000 leafs has been sold in Japan and 6187 in US thoroughly.Worldwide sales have touched 10,000 by late July 2011.

Mitsubishi L

The“Mitsubishi L”starting at $27,990 is a 5 door,4 seat hatchback,has a wheel base 5 inches wider than Japan’s popular iMiEV for the U.S. market.The more powerful U.S. version will have an electric range of 80 miles with a 16kWh lithium battery.This car has been proposed to sell in US market by late January.Because of the price it makes the Mitsubishi L the least expensive plug in car on sale in the US market.It also qualifies for a $7,500 Federal income-tax credit,plus a host of state,local and corporate incentives.The pricing of the car has made Toyota a tough competition and the second least expensive hybrid car sold in the states by June 2012.

Tesla Model

This has the most technically advanced power train in a production car with grater range and speed in the electric car market. Its single speed transmission has been more refined than 2.5 roadsters.245 miles per charge and 0-60 in 3.7 seconds is a remarkable achievement by the company’s research and development team to develop such a master piece. The most of all is that its torque and of course a big fat zero emission is eye catchy.

Audi E-tron

New model from Audi is a completely emission free vehicle running on lithium ion batteries which are economical and reliable when it comes to performance.All its wheels are individually powered to generate incredible amounts of torque.The E-tron has a top speed of 200kmph and can run for 238 kilometers on a single charge.The prototype of the E-tron costs more than $2 million.The company wants to price the production version at about $160,000.The car will be launched in US and European markets and later on to the Asian countries depending on the movement of the car in the market.Company expects to sell 32000 units in US market.Audi E-TRON was the show stopper in the Detroit Motor Show.The fans of AUDI R8 were disappointed with the company’s model because nobody ever expected the company to come out with a green model of R8.But still the car manages to set its own milestone in the electric market.

Photo by Wikimedia Commons

Mercedes ED

Mercedes has leased 250 Smart For two ED to the United States for the purchase of Tesla battery packs,. Mercedes will start taking consumer orders in 2012 July. Mercedes parent company Daimler owns 5 percent of Tesla. Mercedes is putting into fleet tests two 5-seat hatchback electric cars – the A-Class E-CELL battery-electric car with 120-mile range and the B-Class F-CELL,which adds a hydrogen fuel cell to double the range.

This model has been brought to compete with the BMW’s i3 electric version which is shoe stopping the European market.And also company’s new vision is to say goodbye to the petroleum by 2015,which means the company,has planned to shift its production stream completely to the electric market.

Fisker Karma

Luxury sports car with plug-in hybrid model which prices starting around $90,000 approx. With 20kWh of lithium batteries, the car goes up to 50 miles before the 2L turbo engine is engaged. The Karma accelerates using two electric motors that deliver 403 horsepower, so the mileage may vary. In theory it’s a 4-seater; comfortable seater for someone in the back seat with ample boot space to stretch legs.

The Karma is about sex appeal, performance, and luxury and its aims at those people who find car more than just a car. Depending of Karmas Sales a more affordable family sedan is planned in the future by the company by late of 2013 or early of 2014.

Best Electric Cars

Let’s take a quick look at some of the best electric cars that were launched this year.

Nissan LEAF

Nissan LEAF has already captured a lot of market in the year 2010 as it won the European Car of the Year 2011 award. The word LEAF stands for Leading Environmentally friendly, Affordable Family car. This compact five door hatchback is certainly the best electric car that was launched in 2010. It is one of the first mass production electric cars and as per US EPA it has a range of 117 kms (73 miles). LEAF is an all electric car and therefore there is no pollution from it. Although it is an electric car Nissan LEAF has a top speed of 150 kmph.

Chevrolet Volt

Another electric car that made a lot of buzz in the auto world is Chevrolet Volt by General Motors. This is the first mass production plug in hybrid electric vehicle by General Motors and the car has already received good response from buyers as well as car critics. The car has already received 6 awards including 2011 Green Car of the Year 2011 by Green Car Journal. Chevrolet Volt works on GM’s Voltec electric automobile platform which is different from BAS Hybrid system. Volt does not require any external charging station and therefore it is very convenient for the car owners. As per the test drive results, Chevrolet Volt can travel 50 miles on batteries alone in one charge. However, some critics claim that results may depend on climatic conditions.

Tesla Roadster

Tesla Motors, California came out with their latest offering Tesla Roadster in July 2010 and it has already received good response from the people. This battery electric vehicle works on lithium-ion battery cells and Tesla has successfully sold more than 1200 Roadsters so far. This electric car can travel up to 200 miles in one charge and that really makes this electric car so affordable. Tesla Roadster has already won the Monte Carlo Alternative Electric Rally award. As per the US EPA records, Tesla Roadster can manage to travel 244 miles in one charge and can accelerate from zero to 60 in mere 4 seconds. Tesla Roadster qualifies for several tax credit in US and Europe.

Toyota Prius

Toyota has always been innovating something new for the car buyers and this year they came up with their new Toyota Prius Plug in Hybrid vehicle which is a midsize car. The official release of the car will be somewhere in 2012 but Toyota has launched several prototypes that has lithium-ion batteries made by Panasonic. Toyota Prius PHEV can travel 21 miles in one single battery charge. Toyota has so far launched 600 Prius in the market for global demonstration program and therefore it is available in limited car showrooms. Toyota Prius is eligible for tax credit in the United States and is available on loans as well.

BYD F3DM

BYD Auto is one of the fastest growing tech company in the world and it certainly makes some of the best automobiles in China. This year BYD came up with their new F3DM model which is a plug in hybrid compact sedan. The car can travel up to 60 miles in one charge and can extend up to 300 miles when gasoline engine is used. The company sold 48 F3DM models in 2008 but this year they decided to sell more and so far they have been able to sell 300 units. BYD is planning to expand its plans in US and Europe in 2011.

Fisker Karma

The year 2010 saw new automobile manufacturers coming up with the latest technology and Fisker Automotives came up with their latest offering Fisker Karma which is an plug in hybrid luxury sports sedan. So far Fisker has decided to launch only 100 sedans in the market and go for mass production in 2011. The car is available in the US market for $87,000 and can travel up to 50 miles in one single charge. It has already received North American Production Preview Vehicle of the Year award.

General Motors are really enjoying a lot of success because of their new electric car Chevrolet Volt.This electric car has already gained a lot of popularity as being one of the first electric cars for mass production,but now General Motors have one more reason to celebrate as Chevrolet Volt’s propulsion system is among the winners of 10 Best Engines for the year 2011.

The selection has been done by North America’s Wards AutoWorld magazine. This is really a huge success for the General Motors as they are trying to promote their first electric car in the American market.Ward’s editors confirmed that they were very particular about the selection process and they have taken into consideration various smaller details like noise,vibration and harshness,new technology and fuel efficiency while making comparisons and coming out with the final results for 10 Best Engines 2011.Drew Winter,the Editor-in-Chief of Ward’s AutoWorld have clearly stated that Chevrolet Volt’s engine is brave, inspired and brilliant.

Image By chevy-volt.info

He also stated that the propulsion system of Volt is very good and therefore they are really impressed with the way it works under the hood.He further said that Chevrolet Volt would be one of the best cars by General Motor it could really change the way people look at electric cars in the future.

Image By marketwatch

The engine has a Voltec propulsion system which can provide the car up to 379 miles of driving without charging.The propulsion system has three main components which are a long life battery,1.4 liter range-extending engine and an electric drive unit to power the wheels.

The long life battery is around 435 pounds (198.1 kgs).The battery supplies power to the electric drive unit which propels the vehicle.Overall,Chevrolet Volt can deliver 35 miles of gas and tailpipe emission free electric drive to the consumers.

Nissan has certainly been one of the frontrunners in the field of automobiles and they have added one more feather to their hat when Nissan Leaf won the 2011 European Car of the Year award.

Nissan has always been making some of the best cars in the world that has zero emission.With the launch of Leaf, Nissan came up with new standards of zero emission for the global market So far,European Car of the Year awards have been won by regular cars but for the time in the history an electric car won the award which is a proud moment for its makers.

Image By autospectator

In the competition with Nissan Leaf there were some top car models from car makers like Alfa Romeo,Citroen,Dacia,Ford,Volvo and Vauxhall.The jury for the event included 57 top motoring journalists that came from 23 different countries in Europe.Hence, this was really a tough award to win for every car maker.The jury decided on Nissan Leaf because they felt that Leaf was far better than any conventional or electric car that has been launched in the market so far.Hakan Matson,President of the Jury,Car of the Year stated that Nissan Leaf is a breakthrough for electric cars.

On receiving the Car of the Year award,Carlos Ghosn,CEO and President of Nissan Motor Co.Ltd said that the award acknowledges the pioneering technology that they have used in making Nissan Leaf.It also recognizes the safety,performance and spaciousness that you get in Nissan Leaf compare to any other conventional cars out in the market.Nissan Leaf has an AC motor that has the power output of 109PS and 280Nm of torque.The car has a top speed of 90 kmph and can go up to 100 miles in one single charge as per the New European Driving Cycle.

Image By aspected