Tesla Motors announced this week the first Model S electric vehicles will be delivered in June, one month ahead of its initial release date. Another recent announcement is that Tesla will start repaying the $465 million loan to the Energy Department this year in December.

The half-billion loan Tesla got in 2009 was part of the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program that Obama administration created to encourage the creation of jobs and hybrid or electric vehicles. Fisker, Ford and Nissan also awarded loans under the ATVM program.

Tesla Motors reported to have $104.5 million left as of March 31 of the loan, and to spend the remaining money by July.

Deepak Ahuja, the Tesla Chief Financial Officer, said recently:

“We are delivering on the milestones, what we’ve committed to. Once we are delivering customer cars, then that signifies completion of the project.”

Tesla used its loans to renovate and equip a factory in Fremont, California, that shut down in early 2010 after serving as a joint-venture plant for Toyota and General Motors for 25 years. Federal funds also were used for electric motor assembly lines and lithium-ion battery.

Damien La Vera, an Energy Department spokesman, said:

“We are pleased that Tesla continues to make progress and look forward to working with them as clean, electric vehicles play an important role in our energy future.”

source:  bloomberg.com

With an annual production capacity of 150,000 units, the Zoe will be the volume model among Renault‘s four-model EV range, which includes the Kangoo van, the Fluence and scooter-style Twizy.

When the Renault Zoe electric vehicle will be launched, in the second half of this year, the French automaker expects the electric hatchback to far outsell the Nissan Leaf EV in Europe.

Thierry Koskas, Renault‘s EV project director said recently:

“The Zoe is the first electric car in Europe that will address the needs of the mass-consumer market. The Zoe is a next-generation car. It is launching two years later than the Leaf. The Zoe will benefit from technologies that the Leaf does not have, such as a braking energy-recovery system, a heat pump, and a special series of energy efficient tires. The EV market does not really yet exist so creating that market takes time.”

The Renault Zoe will have a starting price of 15,700 euros in France and in most western European markets. The starting price for the Nissan Leaf in France is 30,990 euros.

The Renault Foundation is proposing financing for holders of a two-year diploma in further education to complete a training course in future professions in the electric transport and automobile sector.

Organized on a work-study basis at the Mantes IUT technology institute west of Paris, the professional diploma in “Electric Vehicle and Electro-mobility” can be obtained at the company of the student’s choice.

Registration is open through June 16, 2012 on the IUT website at www.iut-mantes.uvsq.fr. The first class of 20 students will start up in September.

Trainees will be supported and coached all year long by Foundation members.

The Renault Foundation is launching a new training course for students with two years’ further education in partnership with the IUT technology institute in Mantes: the first professional diploma on eco-mobility.

The objective is to finance a training program for students on work-study programs to enhance their employability and prepare them for mid-manager job positions in the following fields: electric vehicle design, production and after-sales service; onboard IT systems; charging infrastructure.

Hélène Mairesse, the deputy director of the Renault Foundation said:

“This program enables us to bring our industrial vision to the academic world in strategic areas such as electric vehicles.”

“We hope that this program – a key lever in our social responsibility commitment – will be a great success with young people and that the first class delivers on results!” says Hélène Mairesse.

The Renault Foundation has been working in further education for over ten years. It creates and finances innovative programs on multi-cultural management, having developed an MBA in International Management at Université de Dauphine, and sustainable mobility, with a Masters in Transport and Sustainable Development at ParisTech. Today the international graduate network has 580 Renault ambassadors from ten of the company’s operating countries.

Good news for EV charging station owners and electric vehicle drivers!

WattStation Connect, an EV charging station management system that’s compatible with internet-connected General Electric WattStation chargers, makes it easy for owners of charging stations to set hours and rates using a computer or smartphone.

Using the WattStation Connect software, owners can decide whether the station is public or private, then choose when it’s open and how much a charge should cost. They can charge for electricity by the hour, by the kilowatt hour or require a flat rate upfront. It’s also possible to set up dynamic pricing by time, or allow separate users to pay different rates. General Electric has partnered with PayPal to collect payments, and EV charging station owners can download reports showing exactly how much money their stations have made.

source: wired.com

Tesla Motors will start delivering the Model S sedan to customers next month, earlier than they had previously projected. But that’s not the only good news! The 85kWh Model S is expected to achieve over 300 miles of range at a 55 mph constant speed.

Tesla Motors recently posted data of its independent testing of the Model S. The results are saying that the 85-kWh version of the Model S has a 250-350 mile-range during constant-speed highway driving at 50-70 mph, with the following conditions being met: flat ground, constant speed, climate control OFF, no wind, windows up, 300 pounds of vehicle load, tires inflated to recommended pressures, sunroof closed, battery pack less than one year old.

Tesla also said on their blog that at slower speeds the range of the Model S could exceed 400 miles. In fact, Tesla Motors is planning a prize for the first Model S customer that actually drives over 400 miles on a single charge as they haven’t internally demonstrated that yet.

Under the EPA‘s current 5-cycle test procedure, the 85-kWh Tesla Model S should achieve a range of 265 miles. So, being officially rated as a 265 mile-range electric vehicle, the Model S equipped with the 85-kWh lithium-ion battery pack still sets a new record for electric vehicle range.

source:  teslamotors.com

Coda Automotive announced it has withdrawn its $334 million loan request from the U.S. Department of Energy after waiting two years for a response. The application was stuck in a “holding pattern” with the DOE, which oversees the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program.

Coda hoped to use the money to build an assembly and battery plant in Columbus, Ohio, creating 1,000 to 2,000 jobs.

The Coda sedan starts at $37,250 and the battery comes with a 10-year or 100,000-mile guarantee. The electric car’s major components are made in China and assembled in Benicia, California. Sales at this point are limited to California, but the company plans to expand slowly.

Forrest Beanum, Coda‘s senior vice president of government affairs said the company may reapply for the DOE loans at some point and still wants to establish U.S. manufacturing operations.

Toyota RAV4 EV will make its debut at the 26th International Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS26) in Los Angeles. Toyota‘s news conference will be held on Monday, May 7 at noon in the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The 26th edition of the Electric Vehicle Symposium gets started next week on May 6th ending on May 9th in Los Angeles, California.