GM collaboration with SAIC produced EN-V concept

GM the largest US car manufacturer in collaboration with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC) produced three versions of new urban transportation automobile concept to World Expo 2010 in Shanghai. The EN-V is a very small, two-seat, and two-wheeled vehicle to move in urban centers.

The automobile motors are powered with arrays of lithium-ion batteries with a 40 km range and once completely charged it can transport the EN-V a total distance of 25 miles. The EN-V can also advance the efficiency of the public electric infrastructure since the vehicle can communicate with the electric grid to determine the best time to recharge based on overall usage.

The Recharge time of the automobile was not revealed, but the vehicle can be plugged into a household outlet. The EN-V is a development on Segway Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility concept shown off last April. The manufacturing engineers used acryllic, carbon fiber and Lexan to keep vehicle weight at 500 kilograms or 1102 lbs.

Shanghai has the huge number of people living in the city than any other place in the world. The EN-V, or Electric Networked-Vehicle, is not just meant for crowded cities. The two automakers, along with Segway, worked to develop the machine for metropolitan areas worldwide, where 60% of the world's population is expected to live by 2030.

The GPS and automobile to automobile communication device has a capability to select its individual driving way. Cameras and sensors around the EN-V let the automobile to respond to varying surroundings and keep away from accidents. The SAIC-GM EN-V will be revealed in World Expo 2010 on May 1 in Shangai.