Electric car, G-Wiz, improves safety standards
[Note: The facts in this post are currently under review. Look for future posts to decide if the testing done was on the up and up, or if this was a smokescreen used to draw popularity away from electric cars. See comments for more info.]
There’s a misconception about hybrid and electric cars being less safe than gasoline-powered vehicles that has a surprising hand in keeping sales down. Unfortunately, sometimes an example comes forward that fits a stereotype … and it hurts.
The G-Wiz, manufactured by India-based, Reva Electric Car Company, failed Europe’s [automobile] safety standards miserably, and got enough attention to damage the image of electric cars. Thankfully, the company teamed up with Lotus, and has corrected those problems, according to a story in Business Green:
“the new 2008 G-Wiz i “has been independently, voluntarily frontal crash tested for city speed driving conditions at 25 mph by ARAI [the Automotive Research Association of India] following the addition of the Lotus assisted safety package”.
“The new model, which is expected to be available from next year, also boasts enhanced performance, according to GoinGreen, including an advanced drivetrain that delivers a range of up to 48 miles per charge, a top speed of 50mph, improved acceleration to 30mph and new front disc brakes that deliver a 30 per cent improvement in performance.”
The G-Wiz calls itself the most popular EV in the UK.
From a consumer standpoint, I’m not sure if this is a credible fix. Will people once warned of the dangers be apt to buy the same car? Albeit the next generation? It’s happened often enough with major car manufacturers. We’ll have to wait and see if electric-minded purchasers follow suit.
Dear Hilary,
I think your comments are a little unfair. It is thanks in no small part to the success of GoinGreen and the G-Wiz in London that the EV market is enjoying the resurgence that it is, with investor confidence high and governments and local authorities increasingly focused on EVs as a way to fight climate change and reduce dependence on oil for transport.
As a quadricycle, the G-Wiz has passed all the regulatory requirements of it, set at both UK and EU levels. A key criteria is a maximum weight of 400 kg without batteries, and it is this that limits the type and level of safety features that can be included in the vehicle.
The other point to note is that in over 20 million customer driven miles there is not a single report of serious injury, an exemplary safety record in reality, something articles such as this give a false impression of.
The new G-Wiz i is the third generation vehicle with improvements in safety, performance and comfort, based on feedback from customers and in order to address one-sided media reports such as yours, whilst continuing to improves all attributs of EVs.
It is easy to stand on the sidelines and be critical, but it might help us all to fight climate change if criticism could be a little more constructive.
Keep up the good work.
Best wishes
Keith Johnston
Managing Director
GoinGreen
Well, it was kind of a vent. I am very excited about the Aptera – which has stellar safety ratings – but because they aren’t sure there’s going to be a big market for the car, they’ve joined the very long list of companies limiting sales to California. Do you know how far Iowa is from California?? From personal experience, I’ve found one of the biggest roadblocks for moving to electric is the fear of safety issues, so the results reported on the G-Wiz contribute directly to my problems.
If you really feel like I’m not seeing the whole picture though, I will look into it more and post again later. Thank you for visiting and sharing your opinion. I hope you won’t mind if I contact you later to clarify anything.
Hil