ExxonMobil (Yes, that ExxonMobil) Is Making an Electric Car
- Posted by: Andrew Price
- on June 24, 2009 at 2:50 pm
So far, we’ve known ExxonMobil as an oil company with a knack for spilling things and making money hand over fist. Now they’re getting into the electric car manufacturing game. These are strange times.
Their car, developed in conjunction with the battery company Electrovaya, is called the Maya 300. It’s an all-electric plug-in that looks like a mini Mercedes M class. They’re promising it drives up to 120 miles on a single charge and are hoping to make it available to consumers within about two years.
Gas2.0 has some of the specs:
“The Maya 300 charges in 8-10 hours, plugs into a regular household 110 volt outlet and will be available to consumers for around $20-25,000 in 2011. To my knowledge, this will be one of the most affordable consumer electric vehicles on the market. The Tesla Sedan sells for around $50,00, the Chevy Volt is expected to retail around $30,000 and the bare-bone Toyota Prius starts at $22,000.”
Unlike the car companies, the oil companies have piles and piles of money. Their transition to a new energy economy can actually be pretty smooth if they make moves like this.
UPDATE: ExxonMobil is apparently instead part of a “partnership” that’s responsible for the Maya 300. Exxon’s contribution was some new lithium-ion battery technology. The cars themselves are going to be made by a subsidiary of Electrovaya.
DISCUSSION: 8 Comments
wow. PR stunt? i’d be surprised if this ever made it to market.
I just don’t know about buying a car from an oil company but that’s just me. The will have to find alternative revenue somehow though.
I hope it’s not a PR stunt — but even if it is real, 120 miles wouldn’t even get me to my parents’ house. Hopefully a company like Better Place will come up with some kind of swappable battery standard before the market is filled with incompatible technology.
The oil companies have been buying up patents for electric technologies for decades, preventing other companies from moving forward with electric and biding their time until oil starts to run out so that they can maintain dominance in the energy market.You don’t think that ExxonMobil will simply sit around until the oil dries up, do you? They have a long term business plan, I guarantee it.
Yeah, Justin. Looks like they are poised to outsmart the auto industry. The business world is a mean place.
he will have to find alternative revenue somehow though.hey have a long term business plan, I guarantee it. Better Place will come up with some kind of swappable battery standard
before the market is filled with incompatible technology.
This is to be a low speed vehicle. Not so strange electric cars are oil company interests. They are still transport and there is not much oil left for instance in the the North sea off the UK British Petroleum http://www.energycurrent.com says only 5yrs oil and 6 yrs gas left based on known reserves. These times are going to get all the more extraordinary.
They’re using these as the basis for a carsharing system in Baltimore, after Zipcar cave the town the cold shoulder. http://www.altcar.org/For now, they’re only offering cars that go a 35 mph top speed, which is the speed limit on most Baltimore streets, if I remember correctly.It will be interesting to see how things play out there.