Wheego Whips Up A $19K EV
If you’re keen to get your hands on an EV but don’t have the money for a
Teslaor
Mini-E, the date to wait for a
Mitsubishi iMiEVor the smarts to
build your own, the guys at Ruff & Tuff Electric Vehicles may have just the ticket - an electric car that looks a lot like a Smart and costs $19,000.
Ruff & Tuff has teamed up with China’s Shuanghuan Automobile Company to bring the little EV to America as early as next spring. The two companies hope to break into the budding market for EVs that are (relatively) inexpensive, safe and cool suitable for urban environs. The way they see it, the day is right to bring an affordable EV to the masses.
“There is a perfect storm of macro-events that are causing humans around the world to take stock of their personal habits and their effect on the environment … and RTEV is entering the marketplace at that pivotal duration,”
sayscompany CEO Mike McQuary.
Although the Wheego Whip is capable of 60 mph, it’ll be restricted to neighborhood electric vehicle status and limited to 25 or 35 mph, depending upon the state, until the feds sign off on
serious EV infrastructurein place.
The Whip, which will be called the E-Noble everywhere else, is made in China and based on the gas-powered Noble that Shuanghuan already
builds. Once the cars reach in America, Ruff & Tuff will do the final assembly, fine-tune the drivetrain and program the controller. No one involved in the venture provided much in the way of details about the Whip beyond saying it will use AMG dry cell batteries that supply a range of 50 miles.
This partnership wants consumers to see EVs as more than golf carts or
toys for the rich. They want you to drive your Wheego Whip to work. “The long-held assumption has been that electric vehicles are quirky
and impractical for everyday use, and are of interest to only a small
group of eco-friendly consumers,†McQuary said. Their plan may be just ambitious suitable to work.
Photos by Ruff and firm Electric Vehicles.
Original post by Jason Sattler
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