Wheego Whip - $19,000 highway capable car Q2 2009

[graham]

RTEV, Shuanghuan Auto plan 2-seater electric car for '09 | Cleantech Group

Mike McQuary, CEO of Winnsboro, S.C.-based RTEV, told the Cleantech Group that the companies expect sales of about 1,000 cars the first year in the U.S. and significantly more abroad. Initially the cars will be marketed as low-speed electric vehicles, but the companies are seeking crash-test certification to take advantage of the $19,000 car's ability to reach 70 miles per hour, McQuary said.
...
RTEV has been producing electric recreational vehicles for years, selling about 1,000 in 2007, said Marketing Director Les Seagraves. Eventually, the company plans to incorporate a lithium-ion battery in the vehicle to improve the range, McQuary said.

Shuanghuan plans to manufacture the vehicle in China and send it to the U.S., for RTEV to install the drive system and send it to dealers to be sold as the Wheego Whip.

RTEV plans to build the drive system and send it to China, where Shuanghuan can incorporate it in the two-seater vehicle to be sold as the E-Noble outside of North America.

 

[DDB]

Sounds an awful lot like Mr. Papp's operation, which lead to his downfall:

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/electric-cars/948-spark-ev-okay-ill-bite.html

 

[TEG]

Clearly the shell is a Smart ripoff.

Mercedes might sue to stop Shuanghuans Little Noble at China Car Times

 

[DDB]

What does it cost to go through crash test certification--anybody got a guess? I'd suspect this company dies there...or doesn't get to that stage.

 

[mattjs33]

... did you see that Wheego says they will be finally delivering their first LiFe on Friday, April 22, which happens to be Earth Day? Remember when they were saying they'd beat the Volt and Leaf to market? So much for that.

 

[doug]

So did they change the name.

 

[mattjs33]

Yeah, the LSV car is the Whip. The highway speed car is the LiFe. I asked them about that, because intially they were calling it the Whip LiFe, but they decided on merely LiFe to differentiate the two. For what it's worth, Wheego has always been prompt in answering my random email questions. My belief is that the most recent delay was with the advanced airbag exmeption, which was only granted in February. Initially the NHTSA was deciding that Shaunghuan is the actual builder of the car, and thus as a large volume manufacturer does not qualify for such an exemption. But they pushed it through on the basis of it being a low-emission vehicle. See here: Federal Register | Wheego Electric Cars, Inc.; Grant of Application for Temporary Exemption From Advanced Air Bag Requirements of FMVSS No. 208


Thanks for placing my post appropriately. Funny, notice that the title of the thread said Q2 2009! And the last previous post was in 2008! Well, it's finally here.

 

[doug]

Of course they were wrong on the price too, and looks like this thing will cost more than the Leaf. As with Coda and Aptera, these guys missed their market window and don't have much of a chance.

 

[vfx]

Atlanta couple buys first Wheego electric car - Drive On: A conversation about the cars and trucks we drive - USATODAY.com

 

[benji4]

At 30kWh this little car has a pretty big battery pack.... wonder why it only goes 100 on a charge? Would be interesting to hear the Atlanta couples' reasoning for getting a Whip rather than a LEAF.

 

[Sparrow]

You can't buy a Leaf here in Georgia just yet, we might be able to order them in the Fall so they might just be impatient.

 

[doug]

In Germany, Daimler crushes a Wheego EV to defend intellectual property Autoblog Green

Check out the photos: Schriebers Stromkasten: Warum Daimler ein E-Auto verschrotten ließ - autobild.de

 

[qwk]

The funny thing is, I wouldn't be surprised if the Chinese version has more power than the anemic MB Smart EV.

 

[Doug_G]

What's with crushing it with a forklift? You'd think they'd just tell the importer "sorry you can't import that" and return it to sender???

 

[doug]

What's with crushing it with a forklift? You'd think they'd just tell the importer "sorry you can't import that" and return it to sender???

Ned: Excuse me, neighbor. I couldn't help but notice, you picked pretty much all of my flowers!
Homer: Can't make a float without flowers.
Ned: Oh, sure. But did you have to salt the earth so nothing would ever grow again?
Homer: Heh-heh, heh-heh ... yeah.

 

[AndrewBissell]

This is appallingly bad behaviour.

 

[mattjs33]

First of the 2013's I've seen is now available at Green Wheels Chicago, where I had my Think drive a year ago: Toyota Honda Dealer Inventory Chicago IL 60622 Evanston Oak Park - GREEN WHEELS CHICAGO

Funny thing, when I was talking to the owner at the time, I mentioned that if he was looking for an EV franchise to replace his Thinks, he may want to take a look at Wheego. He had never heard of them.

I don't know what a Sport Wheego is, though.