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Should the UK government introduce legislation to make it compulsory for manufacturers of electric and hybrid vehicles to add artificial noise for road safety purposes?

NICE/Fiat Micro-Vett e500 - electric cars

August 4, 2008 Posted by: Lee Sibbald

NICE Fiat Micro-Vett e500If you’re going to base a new vehicle on an established design, it may as well be that of Europe’s car of the year. The Fiat 500 has had phenomenal success and so it is no surprise that its design has been modified with the most advanced electric drive system to produce the NICE/Fiat Micro-Vett e500.

Quick links:

History of the NICE/Fiat Micro-Vett e500

A new Fiat 500 was first announced by the Italian manufacturer in May 2006, before the car was officially launched in July, 2007. The vehicle is produced in Tychy, Poland, with the car appearing almost identical to the concept version originally presented in 2004 known as the Trepiuno – a strictly four-seat, three-door hatchback aimed at city drivers with fashionable good looks.

The success of the model was phenomenal. Within three weeks of the 500’s launch, the entire year’s production of 58,000 vehicles had sold out. To cope with demand Fiat increased production to 200,000 in 2008 and also launched the car in the UK in January of the same year.

What followed was collaboration between Fiat and electric car manufacturer the NICE Car Company. Due to the growing demand for electric vehicles in the UK thanks to the London Congestion Charge and increased fuel prices, it was felt that a city car with the design of the Fiat 500 would be ideal to market as an electric. That is why the NICE/Fiat Micro-Vett e500 was launched at the British International Motor Show in 2008 with an advanced electric-drive system and though it is only available in limited numbers it was made immediately available to order.

Environmental credentials of the NICE/Fiat Micro-Vett e500

There are two main selling points to any electric car and the NICE/Fiat Micro-Vett e500 is no exception: there are zero emissions and therefore no reason to use a petrol forecourt again.

There are no air quality pollutants at all such as nitrogen oxides or soot. The carbon neutrality of electric cars has been questioned due to the fact that much electricity comes from non-renewable sources. However, electricity produced at the mains socket is increasingly sourced from renewables with the Government setting a 15 per cent target and even at current energy mix levels, the emissions of an electric car such as the NICE/Fiat Micro-Vett e500 are significantly lower than that of a conventional car.

In addition, there are many financial incentives to take ownership of this stylish model. It is exempt from the London Congestion Charge and is also free of vehicle excise duty. It is eligible for parking concessions in many boroughs and with an increased number of electric car recharging points emerging it is becoming more practical. The vehicle benefits further by the inclusion of lithium-ion batteries which means higher speeds and a longer range are achievable by comparison to other electric cars.

NICE/Fiat Micro-Vett e500 statistics

Here are some crucial statistics about the NICE/Fiat Micro-Vett e500:

  • Charge time: TBC.
  • CO2 emissions: None.
  • Engine: Advanced lithium-ion polymer battery.
  • Range: 75 miles.
  • Top speed: 60mph.

Future of the NICE/Fiat Micro-Vett e500

The NICE/Fiat Micro-Vett e500 is a brand new model available to order. We’ll keep you informed of any breaking news relating to this car at TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk.

Filed under: Latest news |

6 Comments »

You are still a lair - a zero emissions car must be able to run without causing any emissions - if coal is used for electricity, an electric car is responsible for more (and much deadlier) emissions than anything coming out of a tailpipe. Quit lying, green morons. Now tell us all how you blocked carbon-free nuclear power for the past 30 years and caused global warming?

Comment by kent beuchert — August 4, 2008 @ 5:47 pm

I don’t think anyone is lying here. We’ve covered the fact that while many electric cars claim to be ‘zero emission’ vehicles, that can be questioned if their energy source is not renewable. All we state in the guide above is that electric cars should become more appealing to environmentally conscious drivers as the amount of renewable energy used by the National Grid increases.

Certainly the carbon-free nuclear power debate is very worthwhile - but this is purely a guide to an electric car so not something we’d look to go into here - but certainly it’s a very worthy topic for discussion in the future.

Comment by Paul Lucas — August 5, 2008 @ 12:34 am

To kent beuchert

One example of an all electric car is the Tesla Roadster. It “offers double the efficiency of popular hybrid cars, while generating one-third of the carbon dioxide. Compare the Tesla Roadster against other sports cars and the results get better still: it is six times as efficient and produces one-tenth the pollution, all while achieving the same performance and acceleration.”

This is a documented fact. It’s not the coal plants that were around in the early 1900’s when you were a little boy, these are highly efficient coal plants. Only 1% of the energy generated by the gasoline power car is used to move a single person. Get with the times old man, the gasoline engine is dead.

Comment by Richard Anderson — August 5, 2008 @ 1:20 am

That’s only the first target Mr. There are lots of alternatives on power supply Hydro, Wind and Solar to name a few.

Comment by Jack P — August 5, 2008 @ 5:46 am

I’ve read the comments of those who advanced me commenting Fiat e500, that we have trasformed as a concept car (micro-Vett, Italy) and shown at London Motor Show.
Electric car is far more efficient than a traditional engine due to the fact that the efficiency of an engine is around 20% (that’s to say: 80% gas in warm and 20% at the wheel), the one of a central production of energy (what we get from the grid) is not less than 60-65%.

Comment by alberto baldazzi — August 27, 2008 @ 3:04 pm

LOOK!it doesn’t matter weather we think petrol cars are better so what it is 1.5p to a mile OMG i would have one anyday these cars can save you upto £7,000 a year so does it matter if you like them or not cause it matters in your pocket!

Comment by C.L.HUNTER — September 1, 2008 @ 6:33 pm

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