Last January, VentureBeat ran a story listing 30 electric car companies poised to make a splash over the next couple of years. That post went on to become one of the most popular in the history of this web site, racking up 189 comments.
Today, we bring you a redux of that article -- but instead of a list of all of the companies with an EV in a works, here's a rundown of 21 companies were strong and focused enough to make progress toward something realistic this year.
It's worth noting that of this group, only two are producing interstate-worthy vehicles today: Tesla Motors, with its Roadster, and Venturi, with its Fetish. These models go for $109,000 and $400,000 respectively -- not exactly what you would call practical.
2010 is certain to be a big year for the EV industry, with both the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt finally coming to market, or so they say. They will pave the way for another batch already set to launch in 2011 (including Tesla Motors' hotly-anticipated Model S) and 2012 (namely, Toyota's revamped Prius).
Without further ado, here are the 21 car companies that we believe will lead the approaching wave of clean transportation. Let's start with the big boys, those coming out of established manufacturers with the production capacity and R&D budgets to change the game:
Nissan Leaf It can be charged wirelessly -- an industry first. For cell phones and PDA devices, wireless charging requires more power than plugging in. It's unclear how Nissan has worked around this inefficiency, or if it has at all. Regardless, Leaf owners will be able to park their cars on special charging stations installed in their garages or elsewhere, and won't need to touch a single cord or cable. This makes it the most hands-off vehicle yet.
Chevy VoltConverj that uses the same power train.
Mitsubishi i-MiEVTo be launched first in Oregon, this car can travel up to 80 miles per hour on its lithium-ion battery packs. It takes about 12 to 14 hours to charge up when plugged into a standard wall socket. But if you happen to stop at a Coulomb Technologies ChargePoint charging station, offering higher voltage, it should take under a half an hour. Expect a range of about 100 miles. Mitsubishi has yet to release pricing information, but it's slated to be a mid-market entry level vehicle.
BMW Mini-Eev up to freeway speed in just over 6 seconds, charge up in 4.5 hours and cost around $50,000. A two-seater, it will have the standard 100-mile range as well.
Now, here are the cars out of smaller, more experimental companies. Whether they are available to be driven today (if you can get your hands on one), or soon to be on the market for neighborhood driving or commercial fleets -- this is the batch of companies devising truly disruptive ideas for the automotive market.
ElBil NorgeMETRO Buddy -- On sale in Norway, this car can go 75 miles per charge and accelerate to 30 miles per hour in 7 seconds. There are no known plans to bring the Buddy to U.S., where it would compete with several domestically-produced vehicles with similar performance standards.
Smith Electric Vehiclestapping Valence Technology to provide batteries for its cars. Based in the U.K., Smith also has offices in Hong Kong, Missouri and the Netherlands. Smith builds fleet vehicles ranging from city-oriented vans to 12-ton capacity trucks. Its aerodynamic 12-ton van will carry a load up to 150 miles and accelerate to 30 miles per hour faster than most diesels, so it's a good choice for urban fleet operations.
The Ford Transit BEVcompany is working with Azure Dynamics, which has recently decided on Johnson Controls-Saft as its battery supplier.
