Driving a Car has really become a passion for every sort of people no matter your billionaire or monthly salary person. Taking a ride in own car is all matters nowadays. This has been clearly understood by the car makers globally, variety of cars has started to roll out in all parts of the world. One classic example TATA has introduced NANO car at the low level price of one lakh rupees targeting middle class people. On the other side Mahindra & Mahindra is on full fledge to introduce Hybrid cars in US as well as In India, to boost this kind of activities Finance minister of India has slashed excise duty from 24% to 12% for Hybrid cars in his Financial Budget 208-09. These are all clear indications of How Automotive segment is growing in India and other countries. Lets see one example where GE has started look at Electric cars.
Industrial giant General Electric has invested approximately $4 million into Think Global, the Norwegian company that specializes in electric town cars.The investment exists, in part, to aid another investment by GE in lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems. GE has invested $20 million into A123, which is working with General Motors on the Chevy Volt.
And as Green Wombat reported last week, Think, formerly owned by Ford (F), unveiled its next model Wednesday at the Geneva Auto Show, a futuristic five-seater called the Think Ox that will eventually be available as a two-door coupe and possibly a taxi. The sleek five-door vehicle resembles a low-slung crossover SUV but maintains the signature touches of the Think City — an urban runabout now rolling off Think’s production line in Norway — including the roof-to-bump glass rear hatch. The concept car also sports a translucent roof with a solar panel, presumably to power radios and other gadgets.
According to Think, the Ox will have a range of about 125 miles (200 kilometers) on a charge and a top speed of about 85 miles an hour. Future models may include a range extender — a small flex-fuel engine that will charge the battery and let the Ox go 280 miles. (The General Motors (GM) Volt electric hybrid is based on the same concept.) Think also unveiled its “connect car” technology to make the Think City and Ox a rolling Internet-connected, GPS-enabled computer that will calculate the cheapest and most environmentally beneficial times to recharge as well as give drivers access to the cars’ systems through their mobile phones.
