06 Oct 08 11:00
French coachbuilder Heuliez has revealed its Friendly - a plug-in electric city vehicle with a range of up to 140 miles and a top speed of 70mph.
The pint-sized car has three motors to choose from - 16, 18 and 25kilowatt - and they draw power from a nickel metal hydride battery which can be charged from a household electricity supply. It is designed for city use but San Franciscans need not apply: the motor will not cope with any more than a 17% gradient. It can, however, be driven on motorways.
There are three versions available - short (2m 10cm), standard (2m 50cm) and long (2m 90cm). All variants are three-seaters with the front seat located dead centre, and the two rears set in the traditional way to form a triangular arrangement. The rear seats can be removed to create a larger load bay. With the rear seats folded down, the Short offers 850 litres of space, while the Long offers 1650 litres.
Heuliez builds prototypes, low-volume and speciality vehicles under contract for manufacturers, and items such as metal folding roofs (it developed the roof for the Peugeot 206 CC, the first supermini coupe-cabriolet). The Friendly is its first self-branded car, however, and it hopes to build 10,000 a year at its factory in Cerizay. It plans to bring the Friendly to market by 2010.
Heuliez also has a partnership with India's Argentum Motors and Reva Motors (makers of the G-Wiz). Its Paris show stand also includes the Reva-developed EV-1, a golf cart-type electric vehicle it plans to assemble in France from Indian-supplied kits, and market in Europe as the Heuliez Pondicherry.
Check out the rest of our Paris Motor Show coverage.
