Another EV and still another completely other type Charging system. These differing charging systems are really hurting the growth of EVs
Upside is when these vehicles have NiMH they will be fantastic!
Don Devlin
September 30, 1998
Contact: Tiffany Mitchell (909) 592-5399
For Immediate Release
AC PROPULSION PRODUCES GOLF ELECTRIC FOR VOLKSWAGEN AG
German Automaker Unveils Technology Collaboration with the California
firm.
At the opening of the 15th International Electric Vehicle Symposium
and Exhibition in Brussels today, Volkswagen AG displayed the Golf
Electric, the first product of a multi-year EV development program it
has undertaken with AC Propulsion, Inc. of San Dimas, CA.
By working with the 6-year-old California firm, known by EV industry
insiders for its high-performance drive systems and the exotic tZERO
sports car, Volkswagen signals its intention to pursue a market-based
strategy to address California's EV production mandates. Volkswagen
wants to build an electric vehicle that will inspire motorists to park
the gasoline car and drive electrically. Volkswagen engineers
searched the world for EV technology that had high efficiency for good
range, safe and rapid charging for practicality, and something
exceptional besides. That search led them to Los Angeles, the land of
smog, the source of trend-setting automotive culture, and the home of
AC Propulsion.
The Golf Electric, a concept car produced by AC Propulsion, seats four
passengers in a modified Golf IV platform. With the 200 horsepower AC
propulsion drive system, the Golf Electric provides exciting
acceleration and effortless highway driving, and that's not all. Alan
Cocconi, AC Propulsion President, drove the car up into the San
Gabriel mountains on its maiden outing and commented, "The new Golf
platform is very solid and we put a lot of effort into battery
placement to get good balance. This is one of the best-handling EVs
we have built. With all that power and a chassis that can use it,
this car just rockets up the mountain."
The outstanding performance comes at no cost to range. The AC
Propulsion drive system achieves excellent efficiency over a broad
operating range. Its highly effective regenerative braking extends
urban range by 30%. With attention to airflow over and under the car,
the Golf Electric slices the air cleanly compared to truck-like EVs
from other manufacturers. The result is 70 mile range in normal
driving, urban or highway, using low-cost lead acid EV batteries from
Optima Battery.
Unlike other EVs that may have greater initial range, the Golf
Electric can recharge in just one hour using its onboard ReductiveTM
charger. The ReductiveTM Charger is patented technology from AC
Propulsion that is actually an integral part of the drive system. The
ReductiveTM Charger uses the same motor windings and IGBTs (insulated
gate bipolar transistors) that power the car while driving, to charge
the car when it is plugged in. By using the same components to
perform two functions, ReductiveTM technology reduces size and cost of
the charger and also reduces the time it takes to charge the battery.
"With the capability of charging at up to 20kW, the Golf Electric can
drive 70 miles, charge in one hour and go another 70 miles", Cocconi
noted. "We know that pure EVs will never make good long-distance
cruisers, but for people who do a lot of local driving, we can offer
the realistic capability of 300 or even 400 miles in a day. Other EVs
might go 100 or 120 miles on one charge, but without the ReductiveTM
Charger, they will take six to 12 hours to charge up again. We think
we have a better solution for the average user."
"Working with Volkswagen is a great opportunity for us", Cocconi
added. "They had the vision to make EVs that people want to own and
drive. We hope we can provide the innovation to make that happen.
The program has made excellent progress but we still have a lot of
development work to do on battery systems and vehicle efficiency. We
see vehicle efficiency improvement as the key to customer acceptance.
It's easy to increase range with a more expensive battery, but when
you increase vehicle efficiency, you increase range, reduce battery
cost, and reduce charging time. It's a real winner for the customer.
We will be working very hard on that over the coming years."
AC Propulsion is a California corporation founded in 1992 to develop,
manufacture, and license system and component technology for electric
vehicle drive systems. It operates R&D and manufacturing shops in San
Dimas, California. The facilities include an extensive power
electronics and electric motor development laboratory, electronics
assembly and test equipment, automated battery test equipment, a 200
horsepower motor and transmission dynamometer with automated data
acquisition, machine shop, fabrication shop, composite shop, and
complete vehicle service bays. In addition to EV drive system
development and manufacturing activity, AC Propulsion conducts R&D
programs for automotive OEMs and other clients in areas such as
electric and hybrid vehicle development, battery testing, and hybrid
power unit development. {end}
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