Phoenix Motorcars are starting to ship out electric vehicles, EV and people are putting their down payments.

The gist is what make Phoenix Motorcars different is they by-passed the small car EV stage and went straight for the gusto. And it makes sense since their primary market is the U.S., land of SUVs, Pickup trucks and other large vehicles.

Electric SUV & Pickup Trucks. We were puzzled at first as to why a company would want to go the heavy vehicle route when it comes to electric drive. After all, the Tesla business model makes more sense. Build them small, gain experience, develop the technology and get paid for it until you can deliver sedans. But Phoenix went straight for the gusto. How is it fairing?

Technically speaking, the SUV weighs in at a hefty 5,520lbs or 2,500K with a 700lbs/317.5K payload, which the company claims can be charged to 95% in 10 minutes. 220 Volts anyone? They also have a pricey option for a fast charger that can cut down on recharge time. Powered by lithium titanate batteries rated at 35 KWh, it does 0 to 60mph in 10 seconds and a limited top speed of 95mph, more than sufficient for highways driving. The batteries come from Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc. and Electrovaya Inc. and the vehicles are based on the Korean auto manufacturer SsangYong’s Actyon. The SUT, or pickup full cab is slightly heavier with similar performances. The range? Around 130 miles. The price? $47,000 for the SUT and the SUV is $54,000. The look? We’ll let you decide.

Final Thoughts. We have no doubts the Phoenix will find a clientele. After having spoken to a few people who have deposited their down payments, it seems Phoenix might have chosen the correct route to the heart of SUV and pickup hungry drivers who do not want to sacrifice the environment.

Tags: Electric Vehicle, lithium tintanate, Pheonix SUT, Pheonix SUV, Phoenix Motorcars

This entry was posted on Monday, February 2nd, 2009 at 11:00 am and is filed under Electric Cars. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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