UK Fund Set to Open Electric Car Plant in Bulgaria by 2011
September 10, 2010, Friday

Bulgaria: UK Fund Set to Open Electric Car Plant in Bulgaria by 2011
Stara Zagora will host Bulgaria's first electric car plant.

UK investment fund Quorus Ventures will open Bulgaria's first factory for electric cars by the end of 2010.

This has been announced by Encho Enev, a Bulgarian consultant to the British investor, as cited by Darik Radio.

The plant will be opened in the southern Bulgarian city of Stara Zagora. The precise sum of the investment has not been specified but it is expected to be at least several million euro plus funding from EU programs.

The intention of Quorus Ventures to build an electric car plant in Bulgaria was announced by Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov in February 2010 during his visit to the UK.

The British fund has picked Stara Zagora for its investment because of the availability of qualified laborers there.

The factory is going to produce two types of electric cars at first – family-type and sports-type. They will be able to run for 300 km with one charging of their batteries;
the expenditures per 100 km will be about EUR 1.5, or BGN 3, which is about 10 times cheaper than the average cars of gas.

The first cars to be assembled in the new factory will be a four-seat ZCV-4 and a two-seat ZCV-2. Enev has said that at a later stage the plant could employ technologies and assembly lines developed by Bulgarian companies.

The new plant should be opened in November-December 2010 even though it has not been constructed yet. The British investor has decided on its location on a plot of 8 000 square meters;
according to Enev, this can grow into an industrial part of 70 hectares in the future.

The future factory will be producing about 10 000 electric cars annually, and will employ 300 people.

Quorus Ventures is reported to be moving its operations from Austria to Bulgaria because of the cheaper labor and better tax conditions.

At a later stage, the fund plans to build electric vans and electric buses for up to 60 people;
these two vehicles are still being developed.

Quorus Ventures is said to be focused on green technologies for machinery and waste disposal.

The fund hopes that by 2020, 20% of all cars in Europe will be electric. The sales and distribution of the electric cars produced in Stara Zagora will be carried out by a commercial firm selected by Quorus Ventures.

Sounds all good to me lets hope others follow

Great news for Bg and its people lets hope their workmanship is up to the standard required? its good to see this sort of thing happening within the EU and not being sent to the far east

[size=55:3rqt8ysd]Sofia echo

British company to assemble electric cars in Stara Zagora

UK electric car specialist Zero Carbon 2020 will launch an assembly line for electric cars in Bulgaria’s city of Stara Zagora, the company’s founder and CEO, Jamie Roberts, said on February 10 at an electric vehicle forum in Sofia.

The first cars will be rolled out in the second or third quarter of 2011, Roberts said. Initially, the line will have a capacity of some 100 cars, but its output will reach about 5000 vehicles by 2015, creating more than 350 jobs. Roberts said his Bulgarian project had the backing of Prime Minister Boiko Borissov.

"
We are a company offering niche products and have no ambitions for mass production,"
Roberts noted, adding that his plans for Bulgaria envisaged assembling an urban model, developed jointly with Swiss electric car maker Rinspeed, and a sports car. Zero Carbon 2020, founded in 2006, has so far launched two models with an annual production of not more than 20 units.

Jamie Roberts has inspired Barry Shrier, chief executive of UK-based Liberty Electric Cars, specialised in converting conventional vehicles into electric cars, to study opportunities for setting up shop in Bulgaria. His company re-engineers existing brands by outfitting them with electric motors, batteries and all the necessary components.

[size=55:15fuik3j]novinite


First UK Electric Cars to Be Assembled in Bulgaria in 2011

UK electric car company Zero Carbon 2020 will produce the first cars from a new assembly line in Bulgaria in the second or third quarter of 2011.

The assembly line will be near the southern city of Stara Zagora and will initially have the capacity of 100 cars;
output is planned to expand to some 5,000 units by 2015.

The initial investment is estimated at BGN 6.5 M, and if the market reacts well, it is planned it would reach EUR 10-12 M.

"
We are a company offering niche products and have no ambitions for mass production,"
Zero Carbon CEO Jamie Roberts explained, adding that his plans for Bulgaria envisage assembling an urban model, developed jointly with Swiss electric car maker Rinspeed, and a sports car.

Zero Carbon 2020, founded in 2006, has so far launched two models with an annual production of not more than 20 units.

The company will further develop models with the so-called inductive charge – without cables to connect the vehicle with the charging stations.

Zero Carbon work in partnership with another UK company - Liberty E Cars, which is considering investing in Bulgaria as well – in the manufacturing of electric cars parts (batteries, electronics etc).

One year ago, the international fund Corus Ventures announced they have secured a British investment for the making of electric cars in Stara Zagora. Later, the investors visited the city to research the possibilities and the time frame of launching the production line for, as it was reported then, a 4-seat electric car that could reach speeds of 120 km/h.

[size=55:1sgh38ds]Sofia echo

First electric cars hit the roads in Sofia

The first batch of electric vehicles were registered at the traffic police department (KAT) recently and will officially hit the roads in Sofia on April 5, after an official ceremony at the Sofia France Auto at Botevgradsko Chaussee Boulevard.

Curiously, although "
the state has absolutely no merit in the introduction of electric vehicles on the Bulgarian market and the promotion of ecological vehicles in general, the keys of the vehicles will be presented personally by the Minister of Economy and Energy.

Bulgaria is still lagging behind in the infrastructure department, compared to other European countries. And because of that owners will be supplied with the equipment allowing them to charge their cars at home, until facilities are built.

The installation of charging stations around Sofia and other major cities and towns "
will start soon"
but no further details were disclosed.

Warranty claims should be interesting....

Oh I :Hearts:that car - no good to us in our village will spend more time in the garage fixing the punctures

Oddy

The Liberty Electric Cars "
Pure Electric"
e-Range, the world's first, and only, high performance ZERO-emission 4x4 on the road today, provides superior off road performance compared to a petrol or diesel engine Land Rover. Because the Liberty e-Range is powered by 4 electric motors, each one powering 1 wheel independently from the others.

The car is completely safe underwater, being designed obviously, and independently road certified, to ensure maximum safety in all conditions.

[size=55:1o50wrqr][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The first and only electric-terrain vehicle 4x4 powered batteries will be produced in Bulgaria. It told Jamie Robertson, head of the British company Zeroni Carbon 2020. The company, along with English giant branch Liberty Electric Cars' built factory producing electric near Stara Zagora. The prototype of unique Range Rover has already been created and was shown in London. The machine can travels 320 km with just one recharge and rises from 0 to 60 km. for 7 seconds. Speed ​​that the car can develop maximum is 100 mph, and suitability of the battery, which sells at least 13 years and 300,000 miles, praise be producers. The luxury vehicle is estimated at a record 160 thousand liras. According to the inventors, however, the price is not so high because the car is economical and in most European countries have tax incentives for owners of such environmentally friendly vehicles. The factory, built in Stara Zagora, will be produced and very fast sports car of the rank of "
Rich"
, but powered by batteries.

The project in Bulgaria will build and assembly line production of family, city cars of current with very low power consumption. The idea and said Prime Minister Boyko Borisov during his visit to London last year. The British company is prepared to invest 100 million euro in the factory. British hope to gain access to European grants with which to start production. We have pre-orders for 8000 cars from Britain, Austria and Germany, said Robertson.