Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Heuliez Friendly EV



Introduced last fall during the Paris Motor Show, the Heuliez Friendly is a French electric car with promising and realistic intentions. Heuliez is known for making short series of cars (such as the Opel Tigra TwinTop) and the retractable tops of Peugeots, so it's not a total newcomer to the auto market.  The battery pack will offer an expected range of 100 km (60 miles) but two additional packages will be offered as options, so autonomy can be extended to 250 km (160 miles). It's also interesting to know that the Friendly is not an NEV, as it can reach highway speeds of 120 km/h (75mph). It can seat 3+1 like the Toyota iQ and Heuliez will offer three body styles and probably a van version. The best part, however, was getting confirmation that the car will go on sale April next year, with prices starting at €10,000. It shouldn't cost a fortune to maintain, although batteries are expected to last just four years or about 2,000 charge/recharge cycles.

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