Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Electric Cars Hit the Streets

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 3 2007 (IPS) - Several Brazilian companies are testing the Palio Elétrico car, a battery-run version from the Italian manufacturer Fiat. In Brazil, Fiat is a pioneer “not only in technology”, but also in working alongside the transit authorities “to test and note problems in the legislation and in the tax system,” Antonio Nunes, president of the Brazilian Electric Vehicle Association, told Tierramérica.

The Palio Elétrico is the product of a partnership between Fiat, the Itaipú hydroelectric dam, other electricity companies, and technology centers in Brazil, Paraguay and Switzerland. The car can run 120 kilometers with a 100-kilo battery, and reaches 110 km/hour.

These and other innovations in trucks, buses and motorcycles were the subject of the 5th Electric Vehicle Seminar and Show, held Oct. 25-26 in Rio de Janeiro.