Aussie plug-in for new 2

Burgeoning interest in the green car market hasn't just given the big marques something new to go at -- it's also spawned a cottage industry of small outfits grafting plug-in electric power on to existing small car platforms.

In Australia, 2008 saw a couple of such releases. In February came the Electron, an electrified Hyundai Getz from Blade Electric Vehicles in Castlemaine, outside Melbourne (more here).

BEV has replaced the petrol engine with an air-cooled 40kW AC motor, powered by a battery pack of lithium ion phosphate cells. It can be recharged in as little as an hour using a standard 240V power supply, depending on amperage. A 10 amp supply is good for a nine-hour overnight charge. The company claims that doing it this way using off-peak power translates into a running cost of a about $1.00 per 100 km. It delivers about 120 km of typical urban driving on a charge.

Prices: from $39,000 for the complete car or $29,900 for a BYO-Getz retrofit conversion.

Now Armidale company Energetique has announced the evMe, a plug-in electric conversion of the Mazda2.

Armed with a 75kW liquid-cooled Brusa hybrid synchronous electric motor powered by a high-tech 96-cell lithium polymer battery, the prototype evMe has proved itself capable of a range of 140 to 250km on a single charge, depending on how and where you drive it.

Energetique claims a 0-100km/h dash of around 10 seconds and a top speed of 130 kph. Prices haven't been finalised yet but expect to see something in the vicinity of $70,000.