New Magna Steyr Mila EV concept

The new Mila EV concept

Magna Steyr unveiled its Mila EV (electric vehicle) the latest member of the MILA innovation family at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. The Mila EV is a fully developed battery powered vehicle platform that that is being used as a sales piece to attract interest from existing vehicle manufacturers. The Austrian company doesn’t intend to put the Mila EV into production, but to provide the technology so that other car manufacturers can develop their own battery powered vehicles.
The front wheel drive Mila will make use of a lithium ion battery pack to power its 67hp-electric motor, which has a range of around 100m and an average charging time of just 2.5 hours. Aside from the battery power, the car also has solar cells built into the glass roof for providing additional energy to the vehicle.
Ford has already announced their collaboration with Magna to build their first zero-emission battery powered car based around their Focus model, which will be due for release in 2011. This is the second partnership Fords has announced this year for developing battery powered vehicles; the first was for their Transit Connect EV van which is being built in conjunction with Smith Electric.
Magna Steyr also worked along side big name companies such as BMW, Mercedes, and Saab in the development and assembly of their vehicles. The new technology that Magna are offering can be applied to differing body styles and powertrains and is open to all manufacturers to take advantage of. Ford is the first to take make use of this technology but I’m sure they won’t be the last.