General Motor’s concept car EN-V short for ‘Electric Networked-Vehicle’ is a small 2-seat urban electric car. This car is a collaborative effort between General Motors, Segway and Chinese state-owned automotive manufacturing company SAIC.
The idea behind this product is to address the urban transport issues of the future. As per the estimates, the world could be populated by over 8 billion people by the year 2030…most of them would be living in urban areas. This massive population could cause transportation problems in the cities that are already overflowing with people.
GM EN-V promises a cleaner, brighter and more convenient futuristic car to meet the growing demand for transportation. The vehicle’s platform is based on Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility (P.U.M.A.) technology developed by Segway, using Segway’s dynamic stabilization technology. Dynamic stabilization technology enables the vehicle to balance on two wheels and have a true zero turning radius.
This emission-free vehicle is propelled by electric motors in each of its two driving-mode wheels. These motors provide power for acceleration and also bring the vehicle to a stop. The lithium-ion batteries provide the power to the motors. These batteries can be charged using standard household power. The EN-V can travel upto 40 KMs on a single charge.
It’s a networked vehicle sharing information with other cars about its location and speed to anticipate and avoid collisions. Finally it can drive itself, safely taking over the driving from a sleepy or distracted driver.
GM unveiled the EN-V models called Jiao (Pride), Miao (Magic) and Xiao (Laugh) in Shanghai at the World Expo 2010. For now it’s purely experimental but it is far more than a typical auto show concept car.
