Electric Commodore gets nod from Canberra

An electric-powered Holden Commodore produced by Melbourne-based consortium EV Engineering has completed a two-week test with the official government COMCAR fleet in Canberra, marking another small stepping stone towards potential production after the first seven proof-of-concept models hit the road in mid-July.

More than a dozen ministers experienced the prototype Commodore EV and reaction to the electric large car was positive, with several parliamentarians requesting the car be added to the fleet and assigned to them.

The majority of the 65 parliamentarians who participated in the two-week EV Commodore trial pointed out its quiet operation and smooth ride, but whether the car will influence our leaders to draft new 'green' vehicle incentives in Australia is not yet clear.

It also remains to be seen whether the electric Commodore, which received the nod of approval from more than a quarter of parliamentarians during the COMCAR trial, reaches the next stage of development on the road to mass production.

Ian McCleave, CEO of EV Engineering, said the COMCAR trial was a success and showed how easily the recharging/battery swap infrastructure could be scaled in order to meet the needs of demanding fleets.

"Our experience with COMCAR shows that this zero-emissions electric Commodore is well-positioned to meet the needs of high-demand fleets. The smooth ride and handling make it attractive to both drivers and passengers, and it also has enormous benefits for fleet managers who want to dramatically cut their vehicle emissions," said Mr McCleave.

"We also learned how we could maximise the car’s effectiveness for COMCAR; for example by installing additional charge spots in key locations and shortening charge times by using fast-charge and battery-switch technology as Better Place makes it available in the ACT."

EV Engineering's main backer is Better Place, an electric vehicle charging infrastructure provider, but with key ex-Holden personnel on board, the company hopes to get GM Holden more involved with the project.

While Holden has donated several Commodores to EV Engineering along with the use of its Lang Lang proving ground, the Australian car-maker is not part of EV Engineering's consortium.

In order to build electric drivetrains in commercial quantities for the Commodore, the next logical step would be for Holden to add a module to its manufacturing operations at its Elizabeth plant outside Adelaide, like it did with the HSV Coupe 4, and begin fitting EV powertrains to its Commodore.

When Holden and HSV co-operated with the $90,000 Coupe 4, a special 'rotisserie' system was used at Elizabeth, allowing the car body to rotate to make the specialised work easier.

However, it remains to be seen if such a deal will be struck in future, particularly with the Volt set become Holden's EV hero when it arrives later in 2012.

EV Engineering’s electric Commodore is powered by an 145kW/400Nm electric motor and offers enough battery capacity to provide a 150km range, which is far less than the ‘range-extending’ Volt plug-in hybrid's 600km potential range.

Mr McCleave has previously stated that demand for a locally made large electric car is significant among many fleet operators, and EV Engineering's electric powertrain could work just as easily (relatively speaking) with the Ford Falcon.

"We have also spoken with the majority of other large Australian fleets and they have a strong appetite to trial a large electric car as part of their vehicle mix,” he said.

“This shows that there is clear customer demand for the kind of car we’ve developed, which is great news for an industry that is facing a swing away from large petrol vehicles," noted Mr McCleave.