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The "go-green" slogan has hit even sporty brands form Italy like Pininfarina. The company has established a 50-50 joint venture with Bollore Group to manufacture an electric car. The model will be sold as a Pininfarina in Europe, US and Japan starting in 2010. The car is yet to be named, but it was announced it will be produced by Pininfarina in Italy. The two companies will put a total investment of about 150 million euros.

For sure, the car will utilize a Pininfarina design, fitted with a revolutionary Lithium Metal Polymer battery developed by the Bollore Group, that has been developing for 15 years. The four-seat Pininfarina electric car is believed to provide a 250km range in city driving and is designed to operate for more than 200,000km. As a green car, it won’t go fast, but will have relatively good performance. 0 to 50 km/h is estimated to be reached in 4.9 seconds. Also, the car provides a top speed of 130 km/h. It will be fully automatic.

The totally 100% electric car’s battery can be recharged by plugging it into a standard home electrical outlet. A full charge will take about five hours, but a five-minute charge will be enough for a 25 km run. A number of roadside recharging electrical outlets already exist in some of the world’s major cities. As sales increase, more will be installed by city governments, service stations and parking facilities. The joint venture plans to build 15,000 vehicles a year.

Bollore was founded in 1822 and has more than 6 billion euros in revenues and 32,000 employees worldwide in industrial, transportation and media activities. The company presented Blue Car in Geneva motor show 2005, a small electric car built by the battery manufacturer batScap (a joint venture between Bolloré and EDF which has a 20% share). The project was designed with help by engineers from Renault.

Strengthened CO2 emission standards proposed by the European Commission pushes company to invest in zero-emission vehicles such as electric cars. The Norwegian company Think Global plans to start sales in Norway and Denmark in the first half of 2008 and aims to build 7,000 to 10,000 units a year at its Aurskog, northeast of Oslo plant by 2009. In 2009, Mitsubishi Motors will introduce the MiEV electric minicar in Japan, and depending on market forecast in Europe afterwards.

Press Release

The Bollore Group and Pininfarina Join Forces to Manufacture and Market an Electric Car

Bollore and Pininfarina agreed to establish a 50-50 joint venture to manufacture a car that will be 100% electric. The car will be sold under the Pininfarina brand. The total investment is estimated at about 150 million euros. The electric car, which will be manufactured by Pininfarina in Italy, will benefit from the vast expertise gained by Pininfarina in the design and production of top-of-the-range automobiles and will be equipped with a revolutionary Lithium Metal Polymer battery developed by the Bollore Group.

Bollore, a French Group founded in 1822, has revenues in excess of 6 billion euros and 32,000 employees worldwide. As a result of its diversification strategy, it has operations in industry and in the transportation and media sectors. The Bollore Group has significant holdings in Havas, Aegis, Mediobanca and Vallourec. Building on the technologies it developed over 30 years as the world’s leading manufacturer of components for capacitors, it has now developed an innovative battery.

Founded in 1930, the Pininfarina Group is based in Italy and has more than 3,000 employees a facilities throughout the world. Today, it is a leading supplier of automotive services, offering carmakers creative solutions based on proprietary knowhow at every step of design, product and process engineering and of niche vehicle manufacturing. Its Italian plants can produce up to 60,000 cars a year (and up to 20,000 cars a year in its Sweden plant).

Because the car that Bollore and Pininfarina plan to develop and manufacture jointly will be 100% electric, it will produce 0% carbon dioxide emissions. It will have four seats and will be equipped with a battery that will provide it with a range of 250 km in city driving. This battery, which is the product of 15 years of research, combines the benefit of high energy density with an exceptionally long life, enabling the vehicles it powers to run for more than 200,000 km. The Lithium Metal Polymer technology is an all-solid technology. No liquid is required, which eliminates the danger of spills that could cause overheating or fires. The stability of the materials used contribute to the battery’s safety, with a battery combustion temperature above 200 degrees centigrade and no possibility of explosion. This technology, which was developed as a world exclusive by the Bollore Group, has a critical advantage over the Lithium Ion technology. Moreover, each battery cell is protected electronically by passive and active systems that monitor on an ongoing basis its operating efficiency and the voltage and temperature of each element. The various cells are encased in a steel container that protects them from external agents.

Thanks to the battery’s large capacity, the Pininfarina electric car will have a very fast standing start (zero to 50 km/h in 4.9 seconds), sufficient acceleration to overtake other vehicles safely and a top speed of 130 km/h. It will also be fully automatic. The battery can be recharged by plugging it into a standard home electrical outlet. A full charge will take about five hours, but a five-minute charge will be enough for a 25 km run. A number of roadside recharging electrical outlets already exist in some of the world’s major cities. As sales increase, more will be installed by city governments, service stations and parking facilities. The Pininfarina electric car will be sold concurrently in Europe, the United States and Japan to start by 2010.

Production capacity, which will depend on the number of batteries that the Bollore Group will be able to manufacture at its plants in Brittany (Ergue-Gaberic) and Canada (Montreal), should be sufficient to deliver up to 15,000 cars a year. Obviously, if markets requests exceed this limit, battery production will be increased.