WELCOME ON OUR WEBSITE !

As it was not possible for us to create a website in all European languages, we've chosen English for the start.

The EAA Europe was formed in July 2008 by Manuel Eigner and Rüdiger Hild in Essen/Ruhrgebiet/Germany as the first European Chapter of the worldwide umbrella organization of the Electric Auto Association (EAA), founded in 1967 in San José/Silicon Valley/California.

Together with the umbrella organization in California, the EAA Europe wants to support a final breakthrough of Electric Autos in Europe, California, America, ... worldwide.

© 2008 by The Electric Auto Association. All Rights Reserved.

Very good news for all friends of Electric Autos !

In issue 17/2008 (31st July 2008) of the popular german magazine "auto motor und sport", Mercedes Benz (Daimler) announced the release of a new electric version of the A-Class for 2010.

This sounds great in times of massive problems with exploding fuel prices, SMOG and CO2-emissions. Because this electric version of the A-Class won't have a tailpipe to emit exhaust gases and will need only about 20 kilo-Watt-hours (kWh) of electric energy for 100 km (ca. 60 miles) of emission-free driving. In Germany, the price for 20 kWh from the public grid is about 3 - 4 EUR (0,15 - 0,20 EUR / kWh).

According to "auto motor und sport", the range of this hopeful Battery Electric Auto (BEA), powered by a Li-Ion battery, will be about 170 - 190 km and Daimler wants to start with a small series production in Germany in 2010.

Nothing is said about the price of the new electric A-Class and how many cars will be produced, but a mass produced electric A-Class could certainly be sold or leased for the same price like "usual" models of the A-Class with internal combustion engine, burning gasoline, diesel, natural gas or vegetable oil.

This has been proved already with the former version of the electric A-Class, the 1997 "ZEBRA-A-Class", powered by the "ZEBRA-Battery", and with an average range of 200 km (125 miles).

Today (summer 2008) the main costs of a Battery Electric Auto (BEA) are still the batteries.

But already in 2003, MES-DEA proved, that a mass produced ZEBRA-Z12 with nominal capacity of 42 kWh could be produced for only 4200 USD (today ca. 2800 EUR), i.e. ca. 100 USD/kWh.

Presentation about ZEBRA at the "20 th Electric Vehicle Symposium", published by MES-DEA in 2003 :

Today, in summer 2008, only a few hundreds are produced by MES-DEA and so the price is about 20.000 EUR for a Z12 today.

This is the reason, why the EAA Europe wants to encourage Daimler to start the serial production of the new version of the electric A-Class in 2010 not only with a small series, like announced in "auto motor und sport", but with mass production, meaning 100.000 per year or more.

And so, we are searching for at least 100.000 people in Europe, the USA and allover the world, who would like to buy a new version of the electric A-Class in 2010.

If it is sold or leased for the same price like "usual" models of the A-Class with internal combustion engine, burning gasoline, diesel, natural gas or vegetable oil.

And has at least the same performance and features like the 1997 version :

If you want to be one of the first 100.000 drivers of a new electric A-Class in 2010, please sign our petition to Daimler in Stuttgart/Germany :

According to "auto motor und sport", the new electric A-Class will be presented at the Detroit Motor Show in January 2009 and this could be the begining of a final breakthrough of Electric Autos worldwide.

Did you know ?

In California, Electric Autos - also called "Zero Emission Vehicles", "Electric Cars", "Electric Vehicles" or"Plug-In Cars" - already had a gigantic breakthrough, more than 10 yeras ago, in the 1990s.

Because they had political support by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the "clean air agency" in the government of California, formed in 1967 - like the umbrella organization of the Electric Auto Association.

In 1990 the California Air Resources Board adopted a governmental mandate called "The California Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate".

This mandate had become necessary because of heavy problems with "SMOG" and dependency on petroleum imports, and requried that the major automakers' market share in California include at least 2 % Zero Emission Vehicles in 1998, 5 % in 2001 and 10 % in 2003.

Everything looked fine at the start and major automakers like Daimler (Germany), General Motors (USA) or Toyota (Japan) began with the development of Electric Autos seriously, as they didn't want to lose the Californian market.

In the late 1990s the first Electric Autos for the future Californian market appeared on the roads and they were much better than expected.

The most popular exemplars by European automakers were the ZEBRA-A-Class by Daimler, the "Golf IV Electric" and the "Beetle EV" by Volkswagen :

Prominent representatives of the USA were the "EV1" by General Motors, the "Ranger EV" and the "TH!NK City" by Ford.

From Japan came the "EV Plus" by Honda, the futuristic "Hypermini" by Nissan and the most popular "RAV4 EV" by Toyota.

These quiet, reliable and emission-free Electric Autos were suitable for everyday use, thanks to electric airconditioning even in hot and sunny California. The max. speed of the 1997 ZEBRA-A-Class, for example, was about 130 km/h (80 mph) and the range about 200 km (125 miles), the average daily travel of a Californian is not more than 50 km (30 miles) and 130 km/h (80 mph) are the max. speed limit in the USA.

For 200 km (125 miles) of emission-free electric driving, the 1997 ZEBRA-A-Class needed ca. 30 kWh (kilo-Watt-hours) of electric energy, i.e. "fuel" costs of less than 5 US-Dollars, depending on the electricity prices ($/kWh). Much cheaper than drivng with gasoline, diesel, vegetable oil or natural gas.

No surprise : this revolutionary, new kind of Electric Autos soon became very popular also outside California, and other US-states wanted them, too. SMOG and dependency on foreign petroleum were (and are) not only problems of California.

A gigantic breakthrough of Electric Autos was on the way.

And this was the point when the US Congress entered the stage, unfortunately not in order to congratulate the "CARB" for the ""California Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate"", but to start an open and unfair battle against Electric Autos.

Jim Boyd, executive officer of the "CARB" at this time, had to face the following hard threat by a "very prominent congress man", who should not be mentioned by name :

With this clear message, a very sad story began, and after a few years the battle was won, the original version of the "California Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate" was as good as dead.

Not millions of Electric Autos like the ZEBRA-A-Class, the EV1 or the RAV4 EV appeared on the roads allover the USA , but only a few thousands.

It would have been millions, if 10 % of all new passenger cars and light trucks in the USA since 2003 would have been Electric Autos, as required in the original version of the "California Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate".

But reality looked different : the European automakers like Daimler and Volkswagen cut off their activities in California already at the end of the 1990s, the "ZEBRA-A-Class", the "Golf IV Electric" or the "Beetle EV" were never sold or leased.

At least some American and Japanese automakers brought a few thousands Electric Autos in their dealers' salesrooms.

Between 1997 and 2003 only 4400 Electric Autos by American and Japanese automakers were sold or leased in California, about 1200 in other US-states.

After the final destruction of the "California Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate" in 2003, the automakers wanted to take back all of them and send them to the crusher.

After some hard and frustrating fights with the automakers and campaigns like "Don't Crush" (2005), only 1380 of 5599, i.e. ca. 25 %, could be saved.

PLUG IN AMERICA, a "Special Interest Chapter" of the EAA, published the results of these fights in autumn 2006 in a presentation to the "California Air Resources Board", titled "Plug-In Vehicle History and Status".

Sad but true : "ZEVs" by European automakers - "ZEBRA-A-Class", "Golf IV Electric" & "Beetle EV" - are not listed in this eye opening presentation, because major European automakers never sold or leased any "ZEVs" in California or other states of the USA, as already mentioned above.

How the "very prominent congress man" and the major automakers won their unfair battle, was documented in "WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR ?", a movie released by "SONY Pictures" in 2006.

This is the timeline of the battle against the "California ZEV Mandate" 1979 - 2006, published by "SONY Pictures" :

If this unfair battle should ever come to court, these were ...

Today, in summer 2008, the unfair battle is still not over.

The "Status Quo" was documented by EAA board member Earl Killian in the May 2008 issue of "Current EVents", the EAA-Newsletter :

The situation in the Californian government today is described in the last passage on the front page of this article :

In a bit of drama, former "California Air Resources Board"-Chairman Dr. Robert Sawyer testified in front of the board he once directed, calling for a stronger Zero Emission Vehicle Program. Dr. Sawyer was appointed to the board by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2005, but then fired by the Governor in 2007. Dr. Sawyer's firing led to the resignation of CARB Executive Director Catherine Witherspoon. She accused the Governor's aides of blocking efforts to fight global warming, saying : "I believe the Governor cares deeply about air quality, but no one in his inner circle does."