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134-447: The Sinclair C5 is a small one-person battery electric recumbent tricycle , technically an "electrically assisted pedal cycle". It was the culmination of Sir Clive Sinclair 's long-running interest in electric vehicles. Although widely described as an "electric car", Sinclair characterised it as a "vehicle, not a car". Sinclair had become one of the UK's best-known millionaires, and earned

268-446: A knighthood , on the back of the highly successful Sinclair Research range of home computers in the early 1980s. He hoped to repeat his success in the electric vehicle market, which he saw as ripe for a new approach. The C5 emerged from an earlier project to produce a small electric car called the C1. After a change in the law, prompted by lobbying from bicycle manufacturers, Sinclair developed

402-517: A series powertrain are also called range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs), such as the Chevrolet Volt and Fisker Karma . Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) are a subcategory of electric vehicles that includes battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs). The electric vehicle conversions of hybrid electric vehicles and conventional internal combustion engine vehicles (aka all-combustion vehicles) belong to one of

536-536: A solar PV system on Adelaide's central bus station . Rides are zero-fare as part of Adelaide's public transport system. Proterra 's EcoRide BE35 transit bus, called the Ecoliner by Foothill Transit in West Covina, California, is a heavy-duty, fast charge, battery-electric bus. Proterra's ProDrive drive-system uses a UQM motor and regenerative braking that captures 90 percent of the available energy and returns it to

670-543: A 1 in 7 (14%) slope using the pedals. As the speed of the motor reduces, the current flow through its windings increases, drawing up to 140 amps at stall speed. This would very quickly burn the motor out if sustained, so the motor's load is constantly monitored by the C5's electronics. If it stalls under full load the electronics disable the motor after 4 seconds, while if it is under heavy load (around 80 or 90 amps) it trips after two or three minutes. A heat-sensitive resistor inside

804-677: A C5, commenting that while it was fun to drive they felt insecure in it and preferred their bicycles. Sinclair's claims to have revolutionised the electric vehicle were dismissed by many reviewers; Your Computer called the C5 "more of a toy than the 'ideal solution for all types of local journey' which the brochure claims". The Guardian's motoring correspondent also characterised it as "a delightful toy" The Daily Telegraph described it as "a cleverly-designed 'fun' machine that can hardly be regarded as serious, everyday all-weather transport", while The Engineer viewed it as "a smashing big boy's toy, tough enough to take teenage thrashing and possibly

938-483: A C5. However, as The Times reported, some of the early buyers were disappointed by the vehicle's limitations, citing its slowness, its limited range and its inability to cope with steep hills, which led some people to return their C5s and ask for a refund. Although the C5 reached retail stores at the start of March 1985, sales had tailed off. Sinclair resorted to hiring teams of teenagers to drive around London in C5s to promote

1072-414: A back EMF which opposes changes in current through the coil. Inductors are used as circuit elements in electrical circuits, to temporarily store energy or resist changes in current. A few types: A transformer is a device with two or more magnetically coupled windings (or sections of a single winding). A time varying current in one coil (called the primary winding ) generates a magnetic field which induces

1206-615: A brave face on it, admitting that "sales have not been entirely up to expectations" but claiming to be "confident of a high level of demand for the vehicle". A spokesman told the media that "we expect a rapid rise in sales now that the weather is improving". Possible sales opportunities were explored in mainland Europe, Asia, and the United States, with Sinclair claiming that he had found "very big" levels of interest. Hoover were sufficiently persuaded to allow Sinclair to divert 10 of their employees to modify C5s for overseas export. The bid to sell

1340-408: A circular magnetic field around the conductor due to Ampere's law . The advantage of using the coil shape is that it increases the strength of the magnetic field produced by a given current. The magnetic fields generated by the separate turns of wire all pass through the center of the coil and add ( superpose ) to produce a strong field there. The greater the number of turns of wire, the stronger

1474-412: A co-founder of Acorn Computers – to carry out some preliminary research into electric vehicle design. Sinclair took the view that an electric vehicle needed to be designed from the ground up, completely rethinking the principles of automotive design rather than simply dropping electric components into an established model. He believed that the motor was the key to the design. Sinclair and Curry developed

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1608-515: A cold and foggy London day, the great man was visibly sweating." The timing and location of the launch event – in the middle of winter, on the top of a snow- and ice-covered hill – later prompted criticism even from Sinclair executives, who admitted off the record that spring conditions might have been better for a vehicle with so little protection from the British climate. The Financial Times called it "the worst possible timing to launch what

1742-482: A distance of 3,100,000 kilometres (1,900,000 mi). They were made locally by Advanced Vehicle Systems. Two of these buses were used for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Beginning in the summer of 2000, Hong Kong Airport began operating a 16-passenger Mitsubishi Rosa electric shuttle bus, and in the fall of 2000, New York City began testing a 66-passenger battery-powered school bus , an all-electric version of

1876-424: A glitzy launch event, but it was received less than enthusiastically by the British media. Its sales prospects were blighted by poor reviews and safety concerns expressed by consumer and motoring organisations. The vehicle's limitations – a short range, a maximum speed of only 15 miles per hour (24 km/h), a battery that ran down quickly and a lack of weatherproofing – made it impractical for most people's needs. It

2010-411: A glossy sales brochure characterising the vehicle as a part of an ongoing exercise in "cutting giants down to size, turning impersonal tyrants into personal servants". The brochure highlighted Sinclair's achievements in producing affordable pocket calculators, home computers, and pocket televisions and declared, "with the C5, Sinclair Vehicles puts personal, private transport back where it belongs – in

2144-670: A maximum loaded weight of 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg). The concept of battery electric vehicles is to use charged batteries on board vehicles for propulsion. Battery electric cars are becoming more and more attractive with the higher oil prices and the advancement of new battery technology ( lithium-ion ) that have higher power and energy density (i.e., greater possible acceleration and more range with fewer batteries). Compared to older battery types such as lead-acid batteries. Lithium-ion batteries for example now have an energy density of 0.9–2.63 MJ/L whereas lead-acid batteries had an energy density of 0.36 MJ/L (so 2.5 to 7.3x higher). There

2278-402: A number of prototypes to demonstrate various design principles and clarify the final specifications. A specification of the C1 emerged by the end of the year. It would address short-distance transportation needs, with a minimum range of 30 miles (48 km) on a fully charged battery. This reflected official figures showing that the average daily car journey was only 13 miles (21 km), while

2412-413: A number of restrictions that limited the performance of any vehicle that would qualify under the new standards. The maximum legal speed of the vehicle would be limited to only 15 miles per hour (24 km/h); it could not weigh any more than 60 kilograms (130 lb), including the battery; and its motor could not be rated at any more than 250 watts. Despite these limitations, the vehicle was seen as only

2546-403: A personal electric vehicle". The brief was to assess the options for producing a one-person vehicle which would be a replacement for a moped and would have a maximum speed of 30 miles per hour (48 km/h). Although Wood Rogers was initially reluctant, he was intrigued by the idea of an electric vehicle and agreed to help Sinclair. The vehicle was dubbed the C1 (the C standing for Clive). He built

2680-516: A petrol-driven Honda PX50 moped. The stability, general roadworthiness, and especially the safety of the C5 were questioned, and the AA suggested that the High-Vis Mast should be included as part of the standard package. It concluded: The C5 looks more comfortable and convenient than it really is – older cyclists looking for less pedal effort will be disappointed by the agility its layout demands. Although it

2814-566: A polypropylene body. It would also be much cheaper than a car, costing £500 (equivalent to £1,900 in 2023) at the most. One area of development that Sinclair purposely avoided was battery technology. Electric vehicles powered by lead–acid batteries had once actually outnumbered internal combustion engine vehicles; in 1912 nearly 34,000 electric cars were registered in the U.S. However, the efficiency of internal combustion engines greatly improved while battery technology advanced much more slowly, leading to petrol and diesel-driven vehicles dominating

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2948-432: A powered variant of the cycle rickshaw . The large-scale adoption of electric two-wheelers can reduce traffic noise and road congestion but may necessitate adaptations of the existing urban infrastructure and safety regulations. Ather Energy from India has launched their BLDC motor powered Ather 450 electric scooter with Lithium Ion batteries in 2018. Also from India, AVERA – a new and renewable energy company

3082-501: A publicity photograph showing the C5's industrial designer, Gus Desbarats, in a C5 alongside a cardboard cutout of an Austin Mini to illustrate that the C5 driver's seated position was actually higher than that of a Mini driver. As teenagers were among the target audiences for the C5, some commentators also raised the prospect of (in Adamson and Kennedy's words) "packs of 14-year-olds terrorising

3216-622: A range of waterproofs to keep C5 drivers dry in the vehicle's open cockpit. Other accessories included seat cushions and spare batteries. Sir Clive Sinclair's interest in the possibilities of electric vehicles originated in the late 1950s during a holiday job for the electronics company Solartron. Fifteen years later, in the early 1970s, he was the head of his own successful electronics company, Sinclair Radionics , based in St Ives in Cambridgeshire . He tasked one of his employees, Chris Curry – later

3350-472: A report published at the start of May. It found that the range of the vehicle was typically only about 10 miles (16 km) rather than the 20 miles (32 km) promised by Sinclair, and reported that the C5's battery ran flat after only 6.5 miles (10.5 km) on a cold day. The C5's running speed was more usually around 12.5 miles per hour (20.1 km/h) than the claimed 15 miles per hour (24 km/h), while its running costs compared unfavourably to that of

3484-479: A security lock could be used to prevent it being driven away, the C5 was light enough that a would-be thief could simply pick it up and carry it off. As the summer of 1985 continued, sales of the C5 remained far below Sinclair's predictions; only 8,000 had been sold by July. In the middle of that month, the Advertising Standards Authority ordered Sinclair to amend or withdraw its advertisements for

3618-639: A serious vehicle for fit adults to nip out in for the Sunday papers". On the plus side, the C5's handling characteristics were praised by reviewers. The Guardian called it "very easy to master once you have become familiar with the under-thigh handlebar steering and the semi-recumbent driving position with feet on bicycle-type pedals." The Daily Mirror described the arrangement as "surprisingly easy" to master, although it cautioned that "on full speed and on full lock it's very easy to tip it onto two wheels." The Daily Express motoring correspondent wrote that he found

3752-486: A subcontractor to whom they can entrust the assembly." The proposal suited all sides. The WDA was keen to support the Hoover washing machine factory at Merthyr Tydfil , situated in the economically depressed South Wales Valleys . Hoover was enticed by Sinclair's projections of sales of 200,000 units a year, increasing to 500,000. Sinclair saw Hoover's plant and expertise as a good match for their fabrication techniques. A contract

3886-514: A surprise when it became public and attracted considerable interest, as well as scepticism. The Economist reported in June 1983 that carmakers were "startled" but cautious about Sinclair's prospects; as one competitor put it, "If it were anyone but Sinclair, we'd say he was bonkers". The Economist asked, "Can a man who has made a fortune out of calculators and computers, and could double it on flatscreen televisions, be that crazy?" and wondered whether he

4020-434: A time-varying magnetic field that passes through the other winding, which will induce a time-varying voltage in the other windings. This is called a transformer . The winding to which current is applied, which creates the magnetic field, is called the primary winding . The other windings are called secondary windings . Many electromagnetic coils have a magnetic core , a piece of ferromagnetic material like iron in

4154-399: A voltage in the other coil (called the secondary winding ). A few types: Electric machines such as motors and generators have one or more windings which interact with moving magnetic fields to convert electrical energy to mechanical energy. Often a machine will have one winding through which passes most of the power of the machine (the "armature" ), and a second winding which provides

Sinclair C5 - Misplaced Pages Continue

4288-657: A wafer-thin motor that was mounted on a child's scooter, with a button on the handlebars to activate it. The research got no further, however, as Sinclair's development of the first "slimline" pocket calculator – the Sinclair Executive and its successors – took precedence. No further work on electric vehicles took place for most of the rest of the 1970s. It was not until late 1979 that Sinclair returned to electric vehicle development. Around Christmas that year, he approached Tony Wood Rogers, an ex-Radionics employee, to carry out consultancy work on "a preliminary investigation into

4422-446: Is 15 miles per hour (24 km/h). At the rear of the vehicle is a small luggage compartment with a capacity of 28 litres (1 cu ft). As the C5 does not have a reverse gear, reversing direction is done by getting out, picking up the front end and turning it around by hand. The C5 is powered by a 12-volt lead–acid electric battery driving a motor with a continuous rating of 250 watts and a maximum speed of 4,100 revolutions per minute . It

4556-685: Is a type of electric vehicle (EV) that uses energy exclusively from an on-board battery . This definition excludes hybrid electric vehicles . BEVs use electric motors and motor controllers instead of internal combustion engines (ICEs) for propulsion. They derive all power from battery packs and thus have no internal combustion engine, fuel cell , or fuel tank . BEVs include – but are not limited to – motorcycles, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, railcars, watercraft, forklifts, buses, trucks, and cars. In 2016, there were 210 million electric bikes worldwide used daily. Cumulative global sales of highway-capable light-duty pure electric car vehicles passed

4690-407: Is a variety of coil with a core made of ferrite , a ferrimagnetic ceramic compound. Ferrite coils have lower core losses at high frequencies. A coil without a ferromagnetic core is called an air-core coil . This includes coils wound on plastic or other nonmagnetic forms, as well as coils which actually have empty air space inside their windings. Coils can be classified by the frequency of

4824-465: Is consumed. A country with a high share of renewable energy in its electricity mix will have a low C.I. In the European Union, in 2013, the carbon intensity had a strong geographic variability but in most of the member states, electric vehicles were "greener" than conventional ones. On average, electric cars saved 50–60% of CO 2 emissions compared to diesel and gasoline fuelled engines. Moreover,

4958-434: Is coupled with a two-stage gear-drive that increases torque by a factor of 13, without which the motor would not be able to move the vehicle when a person is on board. However, the motor is vulnerable to overheating. The torque increases as the load on the vehicle increases, for instance by going up too steep a gradient. Sinclair's tests showed that it could cope under power with a maximum slope of 1 in 12 (8%) and could manage

5092-410: Is delightfully quiet, performance, range, and comfort do not compare with the better mopeds and costs are much closer than one might think when one allows for the inevitable battery replacement. The Consumers' Association published a critical report on the C5 in the June issue of its magazine Which? , concluding that the vehicle was of only limited use and represented poor value for money. All three of

5226-419: Is designed to provide 35 amps for an hour when fully charged or half that for two hours, giving the C5 a claimed range of 20 miles (32 km). A display in the cockpit uses green, amber, and red LEDs to display the state of the battery charge. The segments are extinguished one after the other to indicate how much driving time is left. The last light indicates that only ten minutes of power are left, after which

5360-467: Is going to launch two models of electric scooters at the end of 2018, with Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery technology. India is the world’s biggest market for bicycles at 22 million units per year. By 2024, electric two-wheelers will be a $ 2 billion market with over 3 million units being sold in India. The Indian government is launching schemes and incentives to promote the adoption of electric vehicles in

5494-462: Is made predominantly of polypropylene, measuring 174.4 cm (68.7 in) long, 74.4 cm (29.3 in) wide, and 79.5 cm (31.3 in) high. It weighs approximately 30 kg (66 lb) without a battery and 45 kg (99 lb) with one. The chassis consists of a single Y-shaped steel component with a cross-section of about 5.5 by 4 cm (2.2 by 1.6 in) The vehicle has three wheels, one of 317 mm (12.5 in) diameter at

Sinclair C5 - Misplaced Pages Continue

5628-425: Is needed. This DC power is supplied by the battery pack, and the controller regulates the power to the motor, supplying either variable pulse width DC or variable frequency variable amplitude AC, depending on the motor type. The controller also handles regenerative braking , whereby electrical power is gathered as the vehicle slows down and this power recharges the battery. In addition to power and motor management,

5762-402: Is only at bonnet level." The Guardian's motoring correspondent wrote of her "grave misgivings about its use in congested traffic ... On a sharp turn it too easily lifts a rear wheel, is hazardously silent, and low down. It disappears below a car driver's sight-line when pulling up alongside. The prospect of these vehicles merging into heavy traffic, dwarfed by heavy lorries, buses, and cars,

5896-516: Is referred to as a battery pack , which is a group of multiple battery modules and cells. For example, the Tesla Model S battery pack has up to 7,104 cells, split into 16 modules with 6 groups of 74 cells in each. Each cell has a nominal voltage of 3–4 volts , depending on its chemical composition. Electric cars have traditionally used series wound DC motors, a form of brushed DC electric motor . Separately excited and permanent magnet are just two of

6030-517: Is still a long way to go if comparing it to petroleum-based fuels and biofuels, however (gasoline having an energy density of 34.2 MJ/L -38x to 12.92x higher- and ethanol having an energy of 24 MJ/L -26x to 9.12x higher-). This is partially offset by higher conversion efficiency of electric motors – BEVs travel roughly 3x further than similar-size internal combustion vehicles per MJ of stored energy. BEVs include automobiles , light trucks , and neighborhood electric vehicles . Battery electric trains in

6164-597: Is used to power the Mountain View Community Shuttles. This technology was supported by the California Energy Commission, and the shuttle program is being supported by Google. Thunder Sky (based in Hong Kong) builds lithium-ion batteries used in submarines and has three models of electric buses, the 10/21 passenger EV-6700 with a range of 280 km (170 mi) under 20 mins quick-charge,

6298-439: Is worrying. Their low speed risks turning them into mobile chicanes for other traffic." Another Guardian writer wrote that he "would not want to drive [the] C5 in any traffic at all. My head was on a level with the top of a juggernaut's tyres, the exhaust fumes blasted into my face. Even with the minuscule front and rear lights on, I could not feel confident that a lorry driver so high above the ground would see me." Sinclair issued

6432-661: The Blue Bird TC/2000 . A similar bus was operated in Napa Valley, California , for 14 months ending in April 2004. The 2008 Beijing Olympics used a fleet of 50 electric buses, which have a range of 130 km (81 mi) with the air conditioning on. They use lithium-ion batteries , and consume about 1 kW⋅h/mi (0.62 kW⋅h/km; 2.2 MJ/km). The buses were designed by the Beijing Institute of Technology and built by

6566-588: The United States , the first battery-electric, fast-charge bus has been in operation in Pomona, California , since September 2010 at Foothill Transit . The Proterra EcoRide BE35 uses lithium-titanate batteries and is able to fast-charge in less than 10 minutes. In 2012, heavy-duty trucks and buses contributed 7% of global warming emissions in California. In 2014, the first production model all-electric school bus

6700-405: The brushless DC electric motor . Once electric power is supplied to the motor (from the controller), the magnetic field interaction inside the motor will turn the drive shaft and ultimately the vehicle's wheels. EV battery storage is a key element for the global energy transition which is dependent on more electricity storage right now. As energy availability is the most important factor for

6834-464: The 1890s. Battery vehicle milk floats expanded in 1931, and by 1967, gave Britain the largest electric vehicle fleet in the world. Hybrid electric vehicles use both electric motors and internal combustion engines, and are not considered pure or all-electric vehicles. Hybrid electric vehicles whose batteries can be charged externally are called plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and run as BEVs during their charge-depleting mode. PHEVs with

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6968-647: The 20th century, the majority of the world's battery electric road vehicles were British milk floats . The 21st century saw the massive development of BYD electric trucks. In March 2012, Smith Electric Vehicles announced the release of the Newton Step-Van, an all-electric, zero-emission vehicle built on the versatile Newton platform that features a walk-in body produced by Indiana-based Utilimaster . BYD supplies DHL with electric distribution fleet of commercial BYD T3 . Although electric cars often give good acceleration and have generally acceptable top speed,

7102-412: The 300 charge-discharge cycles that had originally been specified. The bodywork was made from two injection-moulded polypropylene shells supplied by three manufacturers; J.J. Harvey of Manchester made the moulds, Linpac provided the shells, and ICI supplied the raw material. According to Rodney Dale, the upper shell mould was "one of the largest – if not the largest – injection mouldings of its type in

7236-482: The BSC and its chairman, James Tye, for defamation (although nothing came of it) after Tye told the press: "I am shattered that within a few days 14-year-old children will be allowed to drive on the road in this Doodle Bug without a licence ... without insurance and without any form of training." Several years later, Tye was happy to take responsibility for the C5's failure, describing himself as "the man entirely to blame for

7370-698: The British Royal Family – Princes William and Harry each had one to drive around Kensington Palace before they were old enough to drive; Sir Elton John , who had two; the magician Paul Daniels , who bought a demonstration model he saw being driven around the BBC Television Centre car park; Sir Arthur C. Clarke , who had two shipped out to his home at Colombo in Sri Lanka ; and the Mayor of Scarborough , Michael Pitts, who swapped his official Daimler for

7504-555: The C1 chassis was fitted with fibreglass shells and tested in a wind tunnel. It was recognised at an early stage that the vehicle would have to be aerodynamic; although it was only ever intended to be small and relatively slow, reducing wind resistance was seen as essential for the vehicle's efficiency. By March 1982, the basic design of the C1 had been established. Sinclair then turned to an established motor design company, Ogle Design of Letchworth , to provide professional styling assistance and production engineering. However, Ogle's approach

7638-464: The C1 would be a flop, telling Sinclair that it would not be fast enough, that its drivers would get wet when it rained and that the battery was not good enough. To meet the steadily escalating development costs of the vehicle, Sinclair decided to raise capital by selling some of his own shares in Sinclair Research to fund a separate company that would focus on electric vehicles. A £12 million deal

7772-422: The C5 "as soon as possible lest the erroneous speculation should have done more harm than good". Rob Gray offers an alternative explanation, that the launch date had been brought forward because Sinclair's development funds were running low. It soon became apparent that the C5 faced more serious problems with public perception than merely a botched launch event. Media reactions to the C5 were generally negative when

7906-449: The C5 "stable, comfortable and easy to handle". The verdict from motoring organisations, road safety groups, and consumer watchdogs was decidedly negative and probably sealed the C5's fate. The British Safety Council (BSC) tested the C5 at Sinclair Vehicles' headquarters in Warwick and issued a highly critical report to its 32,000 members. Sinclair was furious and announced that he would sue

8040-609: The C5 abroad failed; the Dutch National Transport Service told Sinclair that the C5 was not suitable for Dutch roads without improvements to its braking system, the addition of more reflectors, and the inclusion of the High-Vis Mast as part of the basic package. Most of the other ten countries that Sinclair inquired of demanded similar changes. The C5's reputation received a further battering when major consumer organisations published sceptical evaluations. The Automobile Association questioned many of Sinclair's claims in

8174-414: The C5 after finding that the company's claims about the safety and speed of the C5 either could not be proved or were not justified. Retailers attempted to deal with unsold stocks of C5s by drastically cutting the vehicle's price. Comet first reduced the price to £259.90 but by the end of the year was selling C5s with a complete set of accessories for only £139.99, 65% less than the initial price. Production

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8308-399: The C5 as an electrically powered tricycle with a polypropylene body and a chassis designed by Lotus Cars . It was intended to be the first in a series of increasingly ambitious electric vehicles, but the development of the follow-up C10 and C15 models never progressed further than the drawing board, mostly due to the poor public response to the C5. On 10 January 1985, the C5 was unveiled at

8442-503: The C5 consists of two identical metal pressings which are joined at top and bottom with a closing plate at the rear. It lacks a separate suspension system, instead relying on the chassis structure having enough torsional flex. Its motor was produced in Italy by Polymotor, a subsidiary of the Dutch company Philips . Although it was later said that the C5 was powered by a washing machine motor, the motor

8576-400: The C5 could not cope with the slopes at Alexandra Palace: "The 250 watt electric motor which drives one of the back wheels proved incapable of powering the C5 up even the gentlest slopes without using pedal power. The tricycle was soon making a plaintive "peep, peep" noise signalling that the engine had overheated." Even the former racing driver Stirling Moss ran into problems when he tried out

8710-399: The C5 had to be halted for three weeks after numerous customers reported that the plastic moulding attached to the gearbox was impairing the performance of their vehicles. 100 Hoover workers were shifted from the C5 production line to work on replacing the faulty mouldings on returned vehicles. Barrie Wills admitted that Sinclair was also taking the opportunity to "adjust stocks" in the light of

8844-426: The C5 on the roads around Alexandra Palace. The Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reported that while he had started out well, "a jaunty smile on [his] face as he braved some of the worst exhaust fumes in the world spluttering almost directly into his face from trucks he could almost drive underneath", he ran into problems when he reached a hill: "It was at this point that he realised the battery had gone dead. On

8978-419: The C5's poor sales. When production resumed a month later it was at only 10% of the previous level, with 90 of the workers being transferred back to the washing machine production lines. Only 100 C5s were now being produced a week, down from the original 1,000. Over 3,000 unsold C5s were piled up in storage at the Hoover factory, with additional unsold stock in 500 retail outlets nationwide. Sinclair tried to put

9112-428: The C5, with wheel trims and a small luggage compartment being added subsequently. Desbarats was also responsible for the creation of the High-Vis Mast accessory, as he felt uncomfortable being so close to the ground with other drivers potentially not being able to see him. He later described his contribution as "convert[ing] an ugly pointless device into a prettier, safer, and more usable pointless device". The chassis of

9246-455: The C5s that it tested broke down with a "major gearbox fault" and their High-Vis Masts snapped. The longest run between battery charges was only 14.2 miles (22.9 km), and a more realistic achievable range was 5–10 miles (8–16 km). It also echoed the AA's concerns about the C5's safety and the omission of the High-Vis Mast from the standard package. The magazine also called the C5 "too easy to steal", hardly surprising considering that while

9380-760: The C5s. Hoover arranged for 19 of its service offices around the UK – responsible for maintaining customers' vacuum cleaners and washing machines – to also maintain C5s and provide spare parts. The C5's major consumable item, the battery, was to be supported by 300 branches of Comet and Woolworths . Hoover trained its engineers to produce C5s and tested its manufacturing processes by assembling, dismantling and re-assembling 100 C5s. Full production began in November 1984 and by early January 1985 over 2,500 C5s had been manufactured. Each production line could produce 50 vehicles an hour, and Hoover were capable of producing up to 8,000 C5s per week. The news of Sinclair's C5 project came as

9514-563: The EV-2009 city buses, and the 43 passenger EV-2008 highway bus, which has a range of 300 km (190 mi) under quick-charge (20 mins to 80 percent), and 350 km (220 mi) under full charge (25 mins). The buses will also be built in the United States and Finland. Tindo is an all-electric bus from Adelaide, Australia . The Tindo (aboriginal word for sun) is made by Designline International in New Zealand and gets its electricity from

9648-524: The Jinghua Coach. The batteries are replaced with fully charged ones at the recharging station to allow 24-hour operation of the buses. In France , the electric bus phenomenon is in development, but some buses are already operating in numerous cities. PVI, a medium-sized company located in the Paris region, is one of the leaders of the market with its brand Gepebus (offering Oreos 2X and Oreos 4X ). In

9782-630: The Mexico City ePrix takes place on a road course, a modified version of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Special-purpose vehicles come in a wide range of types, ranging from relatively common ones such as golf carts , things like electric golf trolleys , milk floats , all-terrain vehicles , neighborhood electric vehicles , and a wide range of other devices. Certain manufacturers specialize in electric-powered "in plant" work machines. Three-wheeled vehicles include electric rickshaws ,

9916-541: The TerraVolt energy storage system, which in turn increases the total distance the bus can drive by 31–35 percent. It can travel 30–40 miles (48–64 km) on a single charge, is up to 600 percent more fuel-efficient than a typical diesel or CNG bus, and produces 44 percent less carbon than CNG. Proterra buses have had several problems, most notably in Philadelphia where the entire fleet was removed from service. For most of

10050-451: The UK: possibly even in the world". The manufacturing process reflected Sinclair's ambition for the C5 production line. A single mould set was capable of producing up to 4,000 parts every week. The two parts of the shell were joined by wrapping a tape around the joint, aligning them on a jig , pressing them together and passing an electric current through the tape to heat and melt it. The same process

10184-512: The average moped or pedal cycle journey was just 6 miles (9.7 km). The users were envisaged as being housewives, urban commuters, and young people, who might otherwise use cycles or mopeds to travel. The electric vehicle would be safer, more weather-proof, and would offer space to carry items. It would be easy to drive and park and for the driver to enter or exit, and it would require minimum maintenance. The vehicle would be engineered for simplicity using injection-moulded plastic components and

10318-411: The center to increase the magnetic field. The current through the coil magnetizes the iron, and the field of the magnetized material adds to the field produced by the wire. This is called a ferromagnetic-core or iron-core coil . A ferromagnetic core can increase the magnetic field and inductance of a coil by hundreds or thousands of times over what it would be without the core. A ferrite core coil

10452-474: The coil is called the winding . The hole in the center of the coil is called the core area or magnetic axis . Each loop of wire is called a turn . In windings in which the turns touch, the wire must be insulated with a coating of nonconductive insulation such as plastic or enamel to prevent the current from passing between the wire turns. The winding is often wrapped around a coil form made of plastic or other material to hold it in place. The ends of

10586-490: The controller performs various safety checks such as anomaly detection, functional safety tests and failure diagnostics. Most electric vehicles today use an electric battery , consisting of electrochemical cells with external connections in order to provide power to the vehicle. Battery technology for EVs has developed from early lead-acid batteries used in the late 19th century to the 2010s, to lithium-ion batteries which are found in most EVs today. The overall battery

10720-772: The controls were correctly positioned; this was the only external research carried out on the C5. In the autumn of 1983, Wills brought in Lotus Cars to finish the vehicle's detailing, build prototypes and test rigs, carry out testing and take forward the programme to production. The development of the C5 took place over 19 months in conditions of great secrecy, with testing carried out at the Motor Industry Research Association's proving ground in Leicestershire . Further aerodynamic refinements were carried out in Exeter with

10854-554: The country, and is aiming to be a manufacturing hub for electric vehicles within the next five years. China has experienced an explosive growth of sales of non-assisted e-bikes including the scooter type, with annual sales jumping from 56,000 units in 1998 to over 21 million in 2008, and reaching an estimated 120 million e-bikes on the road in early 2010. China is the world's leading manufacturer of e-bikes, with 22.2 million units produced in 2009. An increasing variety of personal transporters are being manufactured, including

10988-400: The current they are designed to operate with: Coils can be classified by their function: Electromagnets are coils that generate a magnetic field for some external use, often to exert a mechanical force on something. or remove existing background fields. A few specific types: Inductors or reactors are coils which generate a magnetic field which interacts with the coil itself, to induce

11122-497: The de-carbonisation process is constantly reducing the GHG emissions due to the use of electric vehicles. In the European Union, on average, between 2009 and 2013 there was a reduction in the electricity carbon intensity of 17%. In a life-cycle assessment perspective, considering the GHG necessary to build the battery and its end-of-life, the GHG savings are 10–13% lower. Electromagnetic coil A current through any conductor creates

11256-438: The demonstration machines did not work, as the assembled journalists soon discovered. The Sunday Times called the C5 a "Formula One bath-chair"; its reporter "had travelled five yards outdoors when everything went phut and this motorised, plastic, lozenge rolled to a halt with all the stationary decisiveness of a mule". The Guardian ' s reporter had a flat battery after only seven minutes, while Your Computer found that

11390-415: The design would have to be redone from scratch, "asking what we were doing about visibility, rear view mirrors, range indications ...". It was far too late for this, however; all the key design decisions had already been made. Desbarats told Sinclair that he would need four months to revisit the design and was given eight weeks instead. He created the styling that was used for the final production model of

11524-588: The development of new body shells which produced further reductions in the vehicle's drag. However, it was felt that something was lacking in the design and a 23-year-old industrial designer, Gus Desbarats, was brought in to refine the shell's appearance. He had won a Sinclair-sponsored electric vehicle design competition at the Royal College of Art and was hired on his graduation to set up an in-house car design studio at Sinclair's Metalab in Cambridge, of which he became

11658-419: The electricity is generated. Electric cars are having a major impact in the auto industry given advantages in city pollution , less dependence on oil and combustion, and scarcity and expected rise in gasoline prices. World governments are pledging billions to fund development of electric vehicles and their components. Formula E is a fully electric international single-seater championship. The series

11792-481: The electricity used to power them may do so in its generation. The two factors driving the emissions of battery electric vehicles are the carbon intensity of the electricity used to recharge the Electric Vehicle (commonly expressed in grams of CO 2 per kWh) and the consumption of the specific vehicle (in kilometers/kWh). The carbon intensity of electricity varies depending on the source of electricity where it

11926-519: The failure of the Sinclair C5". Despite the problems of the press launch day, a more positive response was expected from the 20,000 members of the public who attended the remaining two days of the launch event to try out the C5 on the Alexandra Palace test track. Sinclair reported the day after the event that its switchboard had been overwhelmed by enquirers, and it expected that all 2,700 units from

12060-413: The field produced. Conversely, a changing external magnetic flux induces a voltage in a conductor such as a wire, due to Faraday's law of induction . The induced voltage can be increased by winding the wire into a coil because the field lines intersect the circuit multiple times. The direction of the magnetic field produced by a coil can be determined by the right hand grip rule . If the fingers of

12194-462: The first employee. It was not only Desbarats' first project but, as he later said, "day one of my working life", when he turned up at Sinclair's premises. He was taken aback when he saw the C5 for the first time, as he had been expecting a "proper" electric car. He said later that he thought "the concept looked futuristic but was short on practicality. There were no instruments, nowhere to put anything and no security features." Desbarats told Sinclair that

12328-536: The first production run would be sold by the following Monday. Setting a pattern that would be repeated throughout the C5's short commercial life, this prediction was wildly optimistic; fewer than 200 were sold during the Alexandra Palace event. However, sales picked up as mail order forms – which had been sent to all of Sinclair's computer customers – were returned with fresh orders. Within four weeks, 5,000 C5s had been sold. The C5's users were an eclectic group. They included holiday camps who wanted C5s to rent to campers;

12462-475: The first reviews appeared over the following days. As the Financial Times observed, "the few hardy journalists who ventured out on the roads returned shivering and dubious about the C5's abilities in such harsh conditions." A common concern was that it was simply too vulnerable in traffic. Your Computer commented that "a periscope would be handy if you intended driving the C5 on busy roads since your head

12596-444: The first step in a series of increasingly ambitious electrical cars. Sinclair intended it to prove the viability of electric personal transport; the hope was that, just as Sinclair had found with home computers like the hugely successful ZX81 and ZX Spectrum , an affordable electric vehicle could unleash pent-up demand for a market that did not previously exist. However, Sinclair performed no market research to ascertain whether there

12730-670: The form of BEMUs (battery electric multiple units) are operated commercially in Japan . They are charged via pantographs , either when driving on electrified railway lines or during stops at specially equipped train stations. They use battery power for propulsion when driving on railway lines that are not electrified, and have successfully replaced diesel multiple units on some such lines. Other countries have also tested or ordered such vehicles. Chattanooga, Tennessee , operates nine zero-fare electric buses, which have been in operation since 1992 and have carried 11.3 million passengers and covered

12864-443: The front and two of 406 mm (16.0 in) at the rear. The driver sits in a recumbent position in an open cockpit, steering via a handlebar that is located under the knees. A power switch and front and rear brake levers are positioned on the handlebar. As a supplement to or replacement for electric power, the C5 can also be propelled via bicycle-style pedals located at the front of the cockpit. The maximum speed of an unmodified C5

12998-588: The great marketing bombs of postwar British industry" and a "notorious ... example of failure". Despite its commercial failure, the C5 went on to become a cult item for collectors. Thousands of unsold C5s were purchased by investors and sold for hugely inflated prices, as much as £6,000 compared to the original retail value of £399. Enthusiasts have established owners' clubs and some have modified their vehicles substantially, adding bigger wheels, jet engines, and high-powered electric motors to propel their C5s at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour (240 km/h). The C5

13132-471: The hands of the individual." The photographs accompanying the text showed housewives and teenagers driving the C5 to shops, railway stations, and sports fields – in the words of technology writers Ian Adamson and Richard Kennedy, "a blue-sky suburbia exclusively populated by electric trikes and their drivers". The press was given an opportunity to try out the C5 but this proved to be, as Adamson and Kennedy put it, "an unqualified disaster". A large number of

13266-501: The lack of demand and blamed the press for "a lack of foresight and pessimistic reporting". Matters did not improve; three decades later, the C5's failure was attributed in Wallpaper to there being no market, insofar as "global warming hadn't been invented then". The retail chain Comet acquired 1,600 C5s but nine months later most were still unsold. Adding to Sinclair's problems, production of

13400-604: The lower specific energy of production batteries available in 2015 compared with carbon-based fuels means that electric cars need batteries that are a fairly large fraction of the vehicle mass but still often give a relatively low range between charges. Recharging can also take significant lengths of time. For journeys within a single battery charge, rather than long journeys, electric cars are practical forms of transportation and can be recharged overnight. Electric cars can significantly reduce city pollution by having zero emissions . Vehicle greenhouse gas savings depend on how

13534-470: The market. By 1978, out of 17.6 million registered vehicles on Britain's roads, only 45,000 were electric vehicles in day-to-day use and of those, 90% were milkfloats . Sinclair chose to rely on existing lead–acid battery technology, avoiding the great expense of developing a more efficient type. His rationale was that if the electric vehicle market took off, battery manufacturers would step up to develop better batteries. Wood Rogers recalls: We were stuck with

13668-420: The motor is switched off and the driver is left to rely on the pedals. Another display indicates via green, amber, and red LEDs how much current is being used. The C5 is in its most economical running mode when a low amount of current, indicated by the green LEDs, is being used. When the lights are red, the motor is under a high load and the driver needs to use pedal power to avoid overheating and shutdown. The C5

13802-412: The motor warns the driver if the vehicle is beginning to overheat and disconnects the motor after a short time, and a third line of defence is provided by a metallic strip mounted on the motor. If an excessive temperature is reached the strip distorts and the power is disconnected. Although it was usually billed as an electric vehicle, the C5 also depends significantly on pedal power. The vehicle's battery

13936-543: The neighbourhood in their customised C5s". The secretary of the Cyclists Touring Club raised the prospect of "kids us[ing] them in a pretty wild way. They may run them over paths and pavements and knock people down." Sinclair dismissed such concerns – "I have qualms about seven-year-olds riding bicycles on the open road, but I have far fewer qualms about a 14-year-old driving one of these". Teenagers interviewed by The Guardian were doubtful about whether they would want

14070-550: The one million unit milestone in September 2016. As of October 2020 , the world's top selling all-electric car in history is the Tesla Model 3 , with an estimated 645,000 sales, followed by the Nissan Leaf with over 500,000 sales as of September 2020 . During the 1880s, Gustave Trouvé , Thomas Parker and Andreas Flocken built experimental electric cars, but the first practical battery electric vehicles appeared during

14204-419: The one-wheeled self-balancing unicycles , self-balancing scooters , electric kick scooters , and electric skateboards . Several battery electric ships operate throughout the world, some for business. Electric ferries are being operated and constructed. The motor controller receives a signal from potentiometers linked to the accelerator pedal, and it uses this signal to determine how much electric power

14338-406: The plant's closure. Instead, the work of assembling the C5 was given to The Hoover Company in the spring of 1983. The Welsh Development Agency (WDA) approached Hoover to ask them if they would be interested becoming the principal subcontractor for Sinclair, "who are working on an electric car, and as a by-product of the research have designed an electrically assisted bicycle. They are looking for

14472-659: The production line to test each completed C5 for faults. A mechanical arm simulated the weight of a person weighing 12 stone (170 lb; 76 kg) and the vehicle's brakes were tested under load. At the end of the process the C5s which had passed testing were rolled into cardboard boxes and loaded straight onto distribution lorries in stacks. Around £100,000 was spent to set up the factory. Distribution centres were set up in Hayes in Middlesex , Preston in Lancashire and Oxford to handle

14606-480: The right hand are wrapped around the magnetic core of a coil in the direction of conventional current through the wire, the thumb will point in the direction the magnetic field lines pass through the coil. The end of a magnetic core from which the field lines emerge is defined to be the North pole. There are many different types of coils used in electric and electronic equipment. The wire or conductor which constitutes

14740-492: The standard technology of the time. A car battery was out of the question because it couldn't stand constant charge/discharge cycles, a traction battery , similar to the kind used in milk floats, could be recharged from flat and a semi-traction battery, often used by caravanners, offered a good compromise. Sadly, though, we had very little freedom of choice. The development programme moved to the University of Exeter in 1982, where

14874-476: The start of 1983, the Department of Transport was working on legislation that would introduce a new category of vehicle – the "electrically assisted pedal cycle". This had a number of significant advantages from Sinclair's point of view. Such a vehicle would be exempt from insurance and vehicle tax, and the user would not need a driving licence or a helmet, all of which were required for mopeds. The legislation, which

15008-432: The two categories. In China, plug-in electric vehicles, together with hybrid electric vehicles are called new energy vehicles (NEVs). However, in the United States, neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs) are battery electric vehicles that are legally limited to roads with posted speed limits no higher than 45 miles per hour (72 km/h), are usually built to have a top speed of 30 miles per hour (48 km/h), and have

15142-401: The types of DC motors available. More recent electric vehicles have made use of a variety of AC motor types, as these are simpler to build and have no brushes that can wear out. These are usually induction motors or brushless AC electric motors which use permanent magnets. There are several variations of the permanent magnet motor which offer simpler drive schemes and/or lower cost including

15276-459: The vehicle, at a cost to the company of £20 a day. Similar teams were established in Manchester, Birmingham, and Leeds. The company denied that it was a marketing campaign; a spokesman told The Times that "we haven't done ... tests on inner city roads. That is what the team is doing. Marketing is not the prime function but will undoubtedly be a spin-off." Sinclair was reported to be surprised at

15410-418: The vitality of an economy the mobile storage infrastructure of EV batteries can be seen as one of the most meaningful infrastructure projects facilitating the energy transition to a fully sustainable economy based on renewables. A meta-study graphically showing the importance of electricity storage depicts the technology in context. Electric vehicles produce no greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in operation, but

15544-529: The wire are brought out and attached to an external circuit. Windings may have additional electrical connections along their length; these are called taps . A winding that has a single tap in the center of its length is called center-tapped . Coils can have more than one winding, insulated electrically from each other. When there are two or more windings around a common magnetic axis, the windings are said to be inductively coupled or magnetically coupled . A time-varying current through one winding will create

15678-522: Was "making a ghastly mistake", a prediction that industry insiders thought was likely. The C5 was launched on 10 January 1985 at Alexandra Palace in North London. The event was staged in Sinclair's usual glitzy style, with women handing out press packs and a variety of promotional giveaways: magazines, hats, pullovers, T-shirts, key rings, sun visors, badges, mugs, bags, and even a C5 video game. The vehicle

15812-560: Was actually a market for his electric vehicle; as the director of the Primary Contact advertising agency commented in January 1985, the project continued all the way to the prototype stage "purely on the convictions of Sir Clive". With Sinclair's new specifications in hand, Ogle worked on a three-wheeled design dubbed the C5, which bore similarities with the earlier three-wheeled Bond Bug – another Ogle design. The vehicle's handlebar steering

15946-461: Was ceasing production of the C5. A Sinclair spokesman told the media that the halt in production was "due to a shortage of certain components which are unable to be re-ordered while a financial settlement is pending. Once this has been concluded production is envisaged to recommence." Battery electric vehicle A battery electric vehicle ( BEV ), pure electric vehicle , only-electric vehicle , fully electric vehicle or all-electric vehicle

16080-610: Was conceived in 2012, and the inaugural championship started in Beijing on 13 September 2014. The series is sanctioned by the FIA. Alejandro Agag is the current CEO of Formula E. The Formula E championship is currently contested by ten teams with two drivers each (after the withdrawal of Team Trulli, there are temporarily only nine teams competing). Racing generally takes place on temporary city-center street circuits which are approximately 2 to 3.4 kilometres (1.2 to 2.1 mi) long. Currently, only

16214-575: Was delivered to the Kings Canyon Unified School District in California's San Joaquin Valley . The bus was one of four the district ordered. This battery-electric school bus, which has four sodium nickel batteries, is the first modern electric school bus approved for student transportation by any state. In 2016, including the light heavy-duty vehicles, there were roughly 1.5 million heavy-duty vehicles in California. The same technology

16348-427: Was given a dramatic unveiling; six C5s driven by women dressed in grey and yellow burst out of six cardboard boxes, drove around the arena, and lined up side by side. Sinclair announced the launch of a £3 million, three-month-long advertising print and television advertising campaign. The C5 would be available initially by mail order at a cost of £399 and would subsequently be sold via high-street stores. Sinclair issued

16482-451: Was in fact developed from a design produced to drive a truck cooling fan. Lotus provided the gearbox and a rear axle based on a design for car steering columns. The C5's electronics were produced by MetaLab, a Sinclair spin-off. The wheels were assembled from tyres made in Taiwan and wheels from Italy. Oldham Batteries provided a lead–acid battery developed for Sinclair that could manage more than

16616-440: Was initially sold at a cost of £399, but to keep the cost under the £400 mark a number of components were sold as optional accessories. These included indicator lights, mirrors, mud flaps, a horn, and a "High-Vis Mast" consisting of a reflective strip on a pole, designed to make the C5 more visible in traffic. Sinclair's C5 accessories brochure noted that "the British climate isn't always ideal for wind-in-the-hair driving" and offered

16750-512: Was marketed as an alternative to cars and bicycles, but ended up appealing to neither group of owners, and it was not available in shops until several months after its launch. Within three months of the launch, production had been slashed by 90%. Sales never picked up despite Sinclair's optimistic forecasts and production ceased entirely by August 1985. Out of 14,000 C5s made, only 5,000 were sold before its manufacturer, Sinclair Vehicles , went into receivership . The C5 has been described as "one of

16884-546: Was never going to happen – Sinclair managed to convince him that the project would work. In 1984, Sinclair Vehicles' new head office was established in Coventry in the West Midlands , an area with a long-established link with the motor industry. The project's prospects were boosted by changes in the British government's approach to electric vehicles. In March 1980, it had abolished Vehicle Excise Duty for electric vehicles and by

17018-444: Was not to Sinclair's liking; they tackled the project as one of car design and focused more (and expensively) on the aerodynamics rather than the cycle technology around which the C1 was based. The weight of the vehicle increased to over 150 kilograms (330 lb), far more than Sinclair's desired specification. By March 1983, Sinclair and Wood Rogers had decided to stop the C1 programme. Wood Rogers comments that Ogle were convinced that

17152-485: Was passed in August 1983, was prompted by a lobbying campaign by manufacturers such as Raleigh who wanted to sell electric bicycles. Sinclair realised that his electric vehicle design could easily be adapted to meet the new legislation. As the "electrically assisted pedal cycle" category was so new, there were no existing vehicles on the market that would meet the standards prescribed by the new legislation. However, it imposed

17286-410: Was proclaimed to be a serious, road-going vehicle". Sinclair's biographer Rodney Dale describes it as "a calculated (or miscalculated) risk", observing that production was already underway, details were beginning to leak out to the press and "the launch could hardly have been held up until the possibility of a bright spring day". He justified the choice of January as being necessitated by a need to release

17420-553: Was reached in March 1983, of which £8.3 million was used to fund the establishment of the new Sinclair Vehicles company. Sinclair recruited Barrie Wills, a veteran former employee of the DeLorean Motor Company , to lead Sinclair Vehicles as its managing director. Although Wills initially expressed scepticism about the viability of an electric vehicle – his twenty-five years in the motor industry had convinced him that an electric car

17554-400: Was signed within a few months. The C5 was produced in great secrecy in a separate part of the Hoover factory with its own duplicate facilities. At first the work was carried out by a small team of people in a sealed room, but as production ramped up Hoover installed two production lines in building MP7, connected to the main factory by a tunnel. A rolling testing stand was located at the end of

17688-467: Was terminated in August 1985, by which time 14,000 C5s had been assembled. Cashflow problems caused by the paucity of sales caused relations to break down between Sinclair Vehicles and Hoover. In June 1985, Hoover obtained a writ against Sinclair for unpaid debts of over £1.5 million, relating to work carried out over the previous eight months. It did not actually serve the writ but entered negotiations with Sinclair. In mid-August, it publicly announced that it

17822-449: Was the brainchild of Wood Rogers, who decided at the outset that a steering wheel would not be practicable as it would make it impossible for a driver to get in and out easily – a serious safety disadvantage. He comments that "putting the bars at the driver's sides made it easy to steer and felt very natural". A prototype was presented to 63 families in the A, B, C1 and C2 demographic groups in suburban and town environments to determine that

17956-653: Was used to make the front and rear bumper assemblies of the Austin Maestro and only took about 70 seconds to complete. Although Sinclair had considered producing the C5 at the DeLorean plant at Dunmurry in Northern Ireland, which had one of Europe's most advanced automated plastic-body manufacturing facilities, this did not happen, as the DeLorean Motor Company failed in a controversial bankruptcy that resulted in

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