Yokohama Hoping to Become the First City with All-Electric Cars
Nov 7th, 2009 | By Lisa S | Category: Campaigns (incl.) Grassroots, Health, Life
Yokohama, Japan.
Yokohama is determined to become the City of Electric Cars. Local government agencies are already using them and a government subsidized test for taxis is on the way. Also, car rental companies have begun to offer the first electrical rental cars.
The price of driving an electrical car one hundred kilometres comes to 3.95 CAD incl. tax (2.50 EUR).
No noise, no air pollution and more independence from foreign imports like petrol influenced the Japanese government’s decision to support various electrical car projects in the city of Yokohama. The governor of the region of Kanagawa, Matsuzawa, brought to life the idea of the city of electrical cars.
All gas stations in Yokohama now have chargers where drivers can charge their car batteries. It takes a maximum of thirty minutes for a full charge. This still takes some patience but if you did it at home it would take all night.
The Japanese government subsidizes the purchase of electrical cars, for instance the latest Mitsubishi iMiev at 50% of the list price. The 2005 sports version is described at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75NUD5jRmko
The core secret to electrical cars lies in the battery. Lithium Ion batteries are constantly being improved in cooperation with battery producers.
The Better Place Company, for example, is currently working on a system to make charging cars faster. They have already developed a system to change the battery, which is usually in the body underneath the car, within a record 1.5 minutes.
As batteries are very expensive, the companies are planning to lease them to car owners instead of selling them.
One half of the electrical power that runs electric cars comes from wind turbines. This is the only way the use of electrical cars makes sense in regard to its carbon footprint.
Some companies are hoping to export their technology to Germany in the near future. (Source: ZDF German TV, Auslandsjournal http://www.zdf.de/ZDFmediathek/content/332?inPopup=true)
