Mygreenwheels

I'm not surprised that the Citroen C1 ev'ie has contrived to appear as if by magic on the UK market with perfect timing. It arrives just after our Government announced its support and subsidy plans for electric cars and its commitment to make the UK a 'world leader' in producing and exporting electric cars. Also, London's mayor plans to introduce 25,000 charging points throughout the city, so there'll be some infrastructure at last.

Citroen C1 ev'ie from ECC (The Electric Car Company plc)This timing is no coincidence for ECC (the Electric Car Company plc). If you look at who's behind this 4-seater EV conversion (they're listed at the end of this posting) you'll see some big cheese names with incredible clout and connections - huge experience in government negotiation and infrastructure projects, telematics, politics, auto research, even the traditional auto industry. If this lot can't pull it off, there's little hope for other struggling start-up EV operations.

ECC reckons it can produce 500 of these EV conversions this year and from 2-4,000 next year, so you can place an order from today for £16,850 with ECC. The C1 ev'ie will give you a range of 60-70 miles and top speed of 60mph with full charging taking 6-7 hours.

According to one drive report the C1 ev'ie has one disconcerting aspect. In order to get the most power possible from the regenerative energy system it's set up to apply light braking as soon as you lift your foot off the accelerator. This automatic braking could take some getting used to, but its effect is to improve range by up to 15%, so worth putting up with.

ECC's home-knitted brandingI couldn't help noticing that the branding on the ECC website looks a bit home-knitted. Hope their car conversion is better put together than their branding is. Come on, guys - these things matter!

The ECC board:

David Martell
Successful entrepreneur, founder of Trafficmaster Plc. Vastly experienced in government negotiations, infrastructure projects, and a holder of numerous patents.

Jeff Solomon
Former Technical Director of Trafficmaster Plc. 20 years experience in telematics and the motor industry. Co-Designer of PTFM with David Martell.

Lord Beaverbrook
Former Conservative Party Whip and Party Treasurer. Former Chairman of Ventech Healthcare Corporation.

Christopher Ross
Deputy Chairman of Manganese Bronze. Former Chief Executive of Ricardo Plc and Wagon Automotive Plc.

Richard Wright
Former Sales Director of Ford Motor Company. Former Director of Jaguar European Operations.