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CNET NEWS.COM: Well it's one way to promote green cars. In Mexico house buyers may soon be able to add an electric car to the package -- and their mortgage. Porteon Electric Vehicles, a low-speed electric car company, is working on a deal with a developer in Mexico to basically bundle its cars with the sale of a home, according to CEO Kenneth Montler, speaking at the Dow Jones Alternative Energy Innovations Conference in California.
Slower than the G-Wiz currently available in the UK (pictured), the top speed for Porteon's vehicles is around 25mph. Initially the cars will be launched at resorts and elderly communities -- hopefully next year -- but later they will be sold to college campuses and military bases. The US military actually has issued requirements to buy low-speed alternative energy vehicles.
Although not the fastest car in the world, Porteon's car will be cheap, selling for around $7,000 to $9,000. The cars will run on hub motors (the motors are attached to the wheels) and get power from lithium ion or nickel metal hydride batteries. The car will also contain only 350 parts, making assembly and repair simple. Montler has also said the company will transition to a highway car over time.
Other car companies competing in this space include Miles Automotive, Zap, and Zenn Motors. The big question with many of these low-speed companies is how large the ultimate market will be. In Palm Springs there may be several retirement communities, but they are isolated from grocery stores and movie theaters by mini-freeways where the speed limit is 50. Montler argued that 'new urbanism' will allow people to live most of the time in relatively confined areas, but this hasn't spread everywhere yet.
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