Another company adding to the US neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV) market with new models is Miles Automotive. NEVs are plug-in electric vehicles that are limited to a top speed of 25 mph and are exempted from many of the regulations that apply to other vehicles. Most of the NEVs available so far have been more like golf carts than what most people would call "real cars." The four door Miles ZX40 has the tall wagon look of many Japanese-market Kei-class cars, and is available in two- and four-seat configurations.

The base version is quoted as having a range of 40-50 miles from its four lead acid batteries while the ZX40S adds two more batteries and bumps the range to 60-70 miles. According to the specs for the base model, if you drive an average of 10 miles per charge cycle with a 20 percent discharge of the battery pack, it should be good for about 2,300 cycles or 23,000 miles. As the trip average increases to 25 miles, the number of cycles drops to 700 with a total of 17,500 miles before a new battery pack is needed. The ZX40 is built in China by Beijing JATO Machine & Electric Manufacture Corp. The screaming 8.45 hp motor will take you from 0-18.6 mph in a mere 3 seconds if you opt for the S model. If you cheap out, the base model will take a more leisurely 11.9 seconds for the same trip.

No price information is available at the web site although I've contacted a dealer to find out. Miles is also planning new higher speed models within the next eighteen months. Read more ABG coverage on Mile Automotive:

• EDTA Conference: Miles Automotive chairman previews 2007 LA Auto Show
• Chinese-made Miles OR70 NEV drawing interest on East Coast

[Source: Miles Automotive - thanks to Gary for the tip]

The chairman and owner of Miles Automotive, Miles Rubin, gave a presentation at the EDTA Conference that was refreshing because it wasn't a PowerPoint slideshow. I admit those slides are a great way to show graphs and charts to a large audience, but they're also pretty boring. When Rubin got up to speak, he just launched into his and his company's reasons for being in the electric drive business.

Readers will know about Miles Automotive from their OR70 NEV, but Rubin announced that at the Los Angeles Auto Show in late 2007 the company would have something new to show, probably the XS200. This new car probably won't be NHTSA certified at that time, but if it's anything like the car that Rubin said is his company's goal car, then people will be enthused anyway. This goal car can reach highway speeds, has a 200-mile range and has an on-board charger for a battery that lasts 125,000 miles. The estimated price for the XS200 is $28,500. The reason for building a car like this are obvious, Rubin said: electric make sense because the infrastructure exists; if we wanted to, we could make clean electricity; and hydrocarbon emissions are an "absolute disaster" that our children will have to deal with, but we can start working on the problem now.

Rubin said Miles Automotive is working with Chinese battery makers not because labor there is cheaper, but because those companies are "doing wonders" with lithium-ion batteries that are safe and have the range required (Miles' low-speed OR70 has a range of about 70 miles).

Related:

• Chinese-made Miles OR70 NEV drawing interest on East Coast

Although it looks like a typical 4-door subcompact car, the Miles OR70 is a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV). In most states it's limited to roads with speed limits of 35 mph or less. Most people equate NEVs with open-air golf carts, but the OR70 is designed with more automotive features and appearance. It also costs more: about $14,800 to $16,900. Miles Automotive is based in Malibu, California, and is promoting the vehicle to East Coast dealers where officials say the OR70 is an excellent choice for security teams, parking enforcement, meter reading and mail delivery. The Chinese-made car has a range of 60 miles and can be fully recharged in five to seven hours.

[Source: Aaron Nathans / The News Journal]