EV World Announces the G1 24 Feb '09
The makers of electric cars hope to get plugged into the mid-Atlantic region.
Genovation is a Rockville company that has converted a 2001 Ford Focus into an electric car by removing the gas tank and combustion engine and replacing them with a battery and electric motor. The prototype, called the G1, was unveiled Monday at the company's headquarters, where Rockville Mayor Susan R. Hoffmann took it for a spin around the block.
"I think this is the future, obviously, and more people should be doing it," Hoffmann said.
Andrew Saul, Genovation president and CEO, said company officials hope to manufacture fleets of cars for local and state governments, and possibly even at the federal level. Saul said the G1 has long-term cost benefits and contributes to reducing overall greenhouse gases.
"You're hedging yourself against future spikes in oil and gasoline," said Saul, son of B. Francis Saul II, chairman and CEO of Chevy Chase Bank of Bethesda.
The G1 could cost anywhere from $22,000 — if the customer provides the 2000-04 Ford Focus to be converted — to $28,000 for an outright purchase. Saul said that, compared with the costs of gasoline and maintenance for a conventional car, owners of electric cars can recover their costs in a few years. Saul said the company also hopes to complete a hybrid version in six to eight months that will use diesel or biodiesel to fuel a generator that kicks in when the battery drains. Genovation is currently in the design stages for the G2, an original four-seat hatchback made from renewable materials. Production of the G2 is anticipated to begin next year.
