It’s not just Mum who has gone to Iceland… it is electric cars too, with the REVA Electric Car Company signing an agreement with Northern Lights Energy (NLE) to jointly develop the market in Iceland.
Northern Lights is the initiator of the 2012 charging infrastructure project and provides infrastructure and services for electric vehicles based in the country. It will have exclusive distribution rights for the NXR model, which was premiered by REVA at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, as well as follow-up models including the coupe NXG which is scheduled to be launched in 2011.
The NXR is a three-door, four-seat family hatchback design for urban driving. It has a top speed of 65mph and a range of 99 miles per charge. Using the 90minute fast charge it offers an effective range of 199 miles a day – while a fast charge for 15minutes will provide a 25mile range,
Back in September, REVA announced a joint venture with General Motors India to provide both energy management systems and the electric powertrain for the new Chevrolet Spark, and it also announced a new 30,000 unit REVA assembly plant. Iceland is now being considered as a possible destination for a European assembly plant.
Meanwhile, NLE, which is an Icelandic investment company with a particular focus on environmental projects, is also working on a charging infrastructure system for electric vehicles and a vehicle exchange service to support the adoption of electric cars in the country. In addition to importing new electric vehicles to Iceland, it is working on developing systems to convert the current internal combustion engine car fleet into electric cars. According to Sighvatur Larusson, the chief operating officer of NLE, the aim is to place Iceland at the forefront of countries using sustainable energy for its personal vehicle fleet.
Sales and marketing of the car is expected to begin in the second half of 2010 with customer deliveries at the end of the same year.
