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posted by cmn32480 on Saturday May 02 2015, @10:53AM   Printer-friendly
from the does-that-come-in-a-V8 dept.

Automotive World reports that European demand for Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFVs) has risen rapidly in the first quarter of 2015, with plug-in electric vehicles leading the charge with a rate of increase of 117.9%. While the USA leads in total numbers of EVs registered, its rate of growth is slightly lower at 69%. Interestingly, the UK was responsible for the greatest increase in Alternative Fuel Vehicle purchases in Europe (64.2%), with the most popular vehicles being the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, followed by Nissan's Leaf, and the BMW i3.

Now that ACEA has discharged these numbers, it's clear that resistance to electric vehicles is falling, and there's solidly grounded potential for better AFVs to galvanize buyers off their current fossil fueled cars. Regulators are doing their part to overcome reluctance, and to prove EVs have the capacity to operate on all roads and open circuits.

 
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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by TrumpetPower! on Saturday May 02 2015, @10:51PM

    by TrumpetPower! (590) <ben@trumpetpower.com> on Saturday May 02 2015, @10:51PM (#177975) Homepage

    There're lots of electric bicycles -- both electric assist models primarily designed for starting and going up hills as well as electric mopeds that are as much at home in all-electric mode as in hybrid mode. And, for that matter, electric motorcycles are some of the fastest ones out there...the land speed record for a sidecar motorcycle, for example, currently belongs to an electric.

    People have investigated regen for electric bicycles...and the math just doesn't add up. You only gain a tiny fraction of the total energy expended in the form of increased system efficiency...and, at the same time, you take a really big hit in decreased efficiency with the mechanisms needed to support regen.

    Cars have sufficient mass and velocity for the math to work out differently, but not bicycles.

    If we ever get a generator => battery => motor system with efficiency approaching that of a chain drive, some interesting opportunities start to develop; you could decouple pedaling from motion, and keep pedaling at a stop (obviously, in a three-wheel system) or maintain a constant speed over hills (boost going up and regen back down) or take a break without slowing down or sprint without extra effort and so on. But a well-maintained chain is as close to 100% efficient as makes no difference, and we're a long ways from that with the electronics....

    b&

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