On June 24, 2009 Electrovaya launched the Maya 300, a small vehicle that claims to run 120 miles on one charge, takes 8-10 hours to charge and plugs into 110 volt outlet. Electrovaya, a pioneer in the development and manufacturing of Lithium Ion SuperPolymer battery systems, partnered with Exxon Mobil to develop the vehicle. Exxon developed the lithium ion battery separator film and was the first company to introduce the lithium-ion battery in 1991.

The Maya 300, positioned as an urban vehicle, is slated to be available to consumers

For those who find all that talk of hybrids and electric vehicles and charging infrastructure taking over the world just a little too pie-in-the-sky, here's some fodder to rub in the faces of your visionary friends: an article from the October 1958 issue of Mechanix Illustrated touting the widespread availability of hovering cars by 1978. Among the vehicles allegedly in the works: not one, but two flying Jeeps. Yeah, snark all you want, but you know you'd be buying one of

Japan Post Service Co.,  (the part of Japan Post Group responsible for mail delivery) is expected to start 5-year lease terms on 40 electric vehicles by the end of July.  The company will utilize 20 Mitsubishi MiEVs and 20 Subaru Stellas primarily in Kanagawa Prefecture where some charging infrastructure already exists.

The mail service will also try nine battery powered trucks with solar panels on top and several single seat vehicles based on the Ultra Small Electric Vehicle

More than 70 years ago, during the first electric car boom in the U.S., a well known company emerged from the city of Detroit.  The company, called Detroit Electric went out of business near the onset of the Great Depression, but their name live on today.

The name, now owned by a Dutch company has been changed slightly to Detroit Electric Holdings Ltd, but its connection to the city of Detroit is non-existent.  The new company carries on the old companies logo and naming

Given the volume of disposable material it consumes on a daily basis, McDonald's may see like an unlikely place to set up a charging station for plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles. In fact, the idea of ANY fast food joint catering to EVs seems a little weird to us--much less one in Cary, North Carolina. Then again, it's a brave new internet-friendly world out there, chock-full of innovation, including Coulomb Technologies' increasingly popular ChargePoint

China clearly sees EVs as a major player in the future auto industry.  To achieve widespread adoption within their country, the government has kicked off several new incentive programs and has begun to increase manufacturing capacity and build new R&D facilities.

In December the cities of Denver, Colorado and Chongqing, China along with the help of Ford Motor Company and Chinese automaker Chang an Group signed an agreement that the four parties will work on

Ric Richards is the independent owner of a McDonald's restaurant in Cary, North Carolina. He's about to be the first McDonald's owner to offer a dedicated parking space to charge plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. In that way, he's an environmental pioneer.

In addition to the ChargePoint charging station, the restaurant, which is scheduled to open on July 14th, utilizes eco-friendly construction materials. “McDonald's is enabling a better environment

A Dutch website that is dedicated to hybrid and electric vehicles has been conducting an online poll asking visitors to rank their top choices in the EV and hybrid categories.  The list of entrants include among other the Tesla Roadster, the Chevy Volt, the Pininfarina Blue Car, and the Think City.  But another little known entrant the DuraCar Quicc Diva came out on the top of the list.

After earning top honors, the Quicc Diva