As it has recently been reported three versions of new “urban mobility” concept will be presented at World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China by GM and joint-venture partner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. The EN-V is a two-seat, very small two-wheeled vehicle meant for shuttling people around urban centers.
This event and place is just excellent for taking the wraps off such a concept vehicle. Shanghai has the largest number of people who live in the city than any other place in the world. As nearly 20 million people live in the whole metropolitan area, the city’s traffic is notorious. The EN-V will be demonstrated in the SAIC-GM Pavillion with a system meant to clear up Shanghai’s traffic jams.
However, the Electric Networked-Vehicle is not designed for just China’s cities. The two car manufacturers, along with Segway, develop the car for use in metropolitan areas worldwide, where 60% of the world’s population is expected to live by 2030.
With GPS and vehicle-to-vehicle communication the machine is capable to choose its own driving route. Sensors and cameras around the EN-V allow it to react to a changing environment and thus avoid accidents.
The wheels include electric motors which are powered by lithium-ion batteries with a 40 km range. Recharge time is not known yet, but the vehicle can be plugged into a household outlet. The EN-V is a development on Segway’s Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility concept which was presented last April. Engineers used carbon, acrylic fiber and Lexan in order to keep vehicle weight at 500 kilograms (1102 lbs).
The SAIC-GM EN-V is scheduled to be shown in Shangai on May 1.
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