New Zinoro 1E, The All-Electric BMW X1 Made in and for China, Debuts at Guangzhou Auto Show

If you're aware about China's massive counterfeit business, you may easily be tempted to call out Zinoro for cloning the BMW X1 crossover, but that is far away from the truth. It's actually BMW itself that has cloned the X1 to create the new all-electric 1E crossover for its newly established local brand Zinoro. The car made its world premiere today at the Guangzhou Auto Show.

Zinoro is a joint-venture between BWM and their local manufacturing partner Brilliance Auto, with the name meaning promise in the local language.

BMW says Zinoro's goal is to become "a premium Chinese brand that is caring, respectful and contemporary", adding that, "ZINORO 1E is not aiming at sales volume of today. Instead, it is future-oriented to build the ZINORO brand image, raise customer understanding and acceptance of electric vehicle, and drive the commercialization of electric vehicles."

On the styling front, BMW's designers made subtle changes to the car's front end and rear end eliminating some, but not all, BMW cues like the double kidney grille, and adding new bumpers and head/tail light clusters. More of the same applies to the lightly tweaked interior that hasn't changed much from the X1.

BMW calls the Zinoro E1 an…ESAV, which stands for Electric Sports Activity Vehicle. Under the metal, there's an electric motor likely sourced from the i3 - since it develops the same 125kw (168hp / 170PS) and 250Nm (184 lb-ft) of peak torque, and three lithium batteries mounted at the front under the engine hook, the center and the rear replacing traditional gasoline tank. Luggage space stands at a respectable 306 liters.

According to the automaker, the E1 has a top speed of 130km/h (81mph) and a driving range of up to 150 kilometers (93 miles), with a full charge taking 7.5 hours.

Standard features will include a navigation system, Bluetooth, Auto A/C, Multi-function leather steering wheel, front seat adjustment electric with memory for driver's, PDC, Rain sensor, seat heating for driver and front passenger etc. Active safety technologies include ESP, PSS, and Tire Pressure Monitor.

BMW's China brand said that in order to "attract and encourage" more customers to accept electric vehicles, the 1E will be offered initially as a lease, with the company to open up stores Beijing and Shanghai for brand communication and customer service, beginning from early next year.

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Detroit Electric Forced to Push Back Production as They Still Don't Have a Factory

Whenever you pour the foundation for a startupbusiness, whatever it may be, you need to think ahead, be prepared and have at least a plan C on hand if things don’t go according to the first two plans. It’s difficult to start anything from the ground up, and as we all know, getting into the automotive sectors is probably one of the single most difficult tasks in the world – succeeding,even more so!

Recently revived brand Detroit Electric has a really ambitious plan, based in part on that of the Tesla success story as well as a commitment to honoring the history of the chosen brand, and doing it primarily in the Detroit area.

However, as we were expecting them to, they ran into problems, and have been forced to push back production until everything is sorted out – the original plan, was to commence production in August (which turned into September), but they’ve had to scrap it due to setbacks…

They’ve been forced to adopt a Plan B because they have yet to secure their desired Wayne County manufacturing location that they expected to churn out 2,500 vehicles per year, at the hand of 100 employees. Firstly though, the ex-Lotus Engineering Group execs running the show want to sell 999 SP:01s and “accumulate enough revenue to build a second sports car, and later produce higher-volume, less-expensive electric cars,” according to The Detroit News who were officially informed of the matter via email.

Still, the issue is said to be resolved in the next couple of weeks, and once it is, we’ll of course have a follow-up post.

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Nissan Unveils ZEOD RC Le Mans Prototype, Confirms It’s All-Electric, Skimps on Other Details

We knew, thanks to a couple of teasers released by Nissan, that their electrified Le Mans prototype was set to be shown today. However, up until this point, it had not been confirmed what sort of powerplant would motivate this new racing car. Now that photos and information have been released, we realize that more questions are raised than answered, and aside from the confirmation that the ZEOD RC is all-electric, not much information was shared.

There’s a lot of testing to be done as the car, which will reportedly be able to exceed 300 km/h or 186 mph, will make its debut at next year’s edition of the famed French racing venue.

Its battery pack uses the same basic technology as the Leaf road car, though, we expect the cells being used to be of higher capacity. The overall shape won’t change, as it seems that it was proven to be pretty efficient on the DeltaWing, hence its adoption for the new electric racer.

Executive VP of Nissan, Andy Palmer was quoted as saying: "Nissan has become a global leader in the development of zero emission automotive technology and the Nissan ZEOD RC will allow us to further develop those capabilities using the toughest endurance race in the world as a mobile test bed to test the potential of our planned LM P1 power train,” while adding that this new racing car “is a natural progression that follows on from the development of the Nissan Leaf road car and the Leaf RC race car prototype. The technologies developed through the ZEOD RC program will form part of future innovations for Nissan road cars.”

This should mean Nissan is planning on bringing a performance EV into their showroom, sometime in the coming few years, right? Who knows, maybe this is simply preparation for the making of the next Nissan GT-R, which has a very high chance to get electrified one way or the other by the time it comes out, in 2018.

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Honda Slashes Fit EV's Monthly Lease Price by a Third, Down to $259

The battery-powered Honda Fit EV has just become more affordable for American consumers as the Japanese carmaker has reduced the monthly lease price by more than 30 percent, from $389 to $259 a month for new as well as existing lessees beginning from June 1.

Honda's new three-year lease offer comes with no down payment and includes unlimited mileage, routine maintenance, collision coverage and a 240 volt EV home charging station equipment –albeit excluding installation- from Leviton.

"The Fit EV already is a benchmark electric vehicle with a leading-range rating, fun-to-drive dynamics and excellent packaging," said Steve Center, vice president of Environmental Business Development at American Honda Motor. "Now it's the only EV on the market with no down payment, unlimited mileage, collision coverage and a free home charging station, giving customers an unprecedented value that only Honda can provide and a compelling reason to get off the barrel and onto the grid."

The drop in (lease) pricing coincides with the introduction of a more streamlined Fit EV online application process, which Honda says will allow for "quicker approval and delivery of the vehicle to the customer". Furthermore, Honda announced that its network of qualified Fit EV dealers in California, Oregon, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island and Connecticut will expand from 36 to more than 200 by the end of this June.

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2014 Chevrolet Spark EV Can Be Leased from $199 per Month

Chevrolet today announced that the new 2014 Spark EV 1LT is available for low mileage lease (12,000 miles/19,300 km) for as low as $199 per month for 36 months, with $999 due at lease signing including security deposit (tax, title, license dealer fees extra). The offer makes the Spark one of the most affordable EVs currently on the market, though, it's one of the smallest in size as well.

The Spark EV’s Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) starts at $19,995 (€15,580) after deducting the full federal tax credit of $7,500 (€5,840) and includes $810 destination freight charge.

Spark EV owners in California may also qualify for other state and local tax credits and incentives ranging from $0 to $2,500, which means the price could go down to $17,495 (€13,630). California residents are also eligible for High-Occupancy Vehicle, or carpool lane, access.

GM says that the Spark EV can save drivers, on average, about $150 per month in fuel costs based on EPA assessments, compared to an equivalent new gas-powered vehicle.

The Spark EV has a combined city/highway EPA estimated range of 82 miles (132 km) when fully charged and an EPA-estimated combined city/highway 119 MPGe (1.98 l/100 km) fuel economy equivalent. Chevrolet offers eight years or 100,000 miles of warranty for the 21 kWh lithium-ion battery pack.

When equipped with the SAE combo charger for DC Fast Charging, the Spark EV can recharge the battery up to 80 percent of its capacity in approximately 20 minutes at DC Fast Charging stations. However, a full charge on a dedicated 240V charger takes about 7 hours.

The Spark EV will be available at select Chevrolet dealers throughout California and Oregon beginning mid-June 2013.

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