The trial of a 100-strong fleet of electric-powered Smart cars is paving the way for thousands more and the possible transformation of the microcar market from 2012.

Billed as the largest electric vehicle trial in the UK in recent years, it has been made possible thanks to an electric drivetrain developed by Zytek.

The Smart ED was first revealed in 2006 and provided all the safety features and dynamic ability of the standard smart fortwo, but with zero emissions and fuel costs of just 2.1p per mile.

It was also the only electric vehicle with two airbags, ESP, ABS, pre-tensioned seatbelts and a safety cell.

The centre of excellence for low carbon and fuel cell technologies Cenex, with funding of £100,000, is partnering Smart parent company Mercedes-Benz in the 100-vehicle trial across 60 fleets.

The information gathered will help inform both fleet operators and technology developers about the market requirements of the vehicles.

“The major challenge was to deliver a level of refinement that matched or exceeded the standard vehicle,” said Zytek Electric Vehicles managing director Neil Heslington.

“The combination of speed, acceleration and range, along with excellent driveability, required very advanced engineering.”

The starting point was Zytek’s new, highly integrated electric drivetrain, which uses rare-earth magnet technology.

The brushless DC motor is calibrated to produce peak torque of 88lb-ft and 40bhp peak power.

Power is provided by a Zebra liquid sodium nickel chloride battery which is charged using a standard three-pin plug. It offers a top speed of 60mph with a range of 70 miles in between charges and can achieve the equivalent of about 300 mpg.

Two and a half hours is sufficient to take the battery from 30% capacity to 80%. Even short charges can usefully extend the range without damaging the battery.

The battery is also charged by a regenerative braking system.

Speaking at a recent DRIVENet Forum event at Oxford Brookes University, Tom Morrison-Jones, Smart electric drive project manager, said fleets have not faced any problems insuring the vehicles.

The British trial will draw to a conclusion in 2011/2012. Similar trials have been announced in Paris and Berlin.

Fleets' Smart choice

Coventry City Council was the first of the 60 fleets to take delivery of the electric Smart as part of the UK-based market trial in December 2007.

It is using the Smart in its fleet of pool cars. Council cabinet member Gary Ridley said: “As the biggest employer in the city, we should be leading by example and encouraging other businesses to think about their carbon footprint and their impact on the environment while carrying out their day-to-day activities”

The Metropolitan Police has taken delivery of four electric Smarts, two of which are sporting the Metropolitan Police livery and are deployed in central London and at Heathrow Airport.

Stuart Middleton, the Met’s director of transport services, said: “The public might be surprised to see Smart police cars, but we’re very excited about taking part in this trial.”

History

Swiss watchmaker Nicolas Hayek, who was famed for his brightly-coloured plastic Swatches in the 1980s, proved his visionary design once again a decade later with
the electric ‘Swatch-mobile’ – or Smart car.

But despite a partnership with Daimler, the Smart failed to capture public imagination until the early part of the decade when sales took off, albeit with a combustion engine, as a result of high fuel prices and growing concerns about global warming and the effect of emissions on the environment.