FHI and Tokyo Electric Power to Jointly Develop Electric Vehicles

TEPCO will also study the possibility of switching a part of its fleet of approximately 8300 vehicles to EVs in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008 and beyond.

Such a shift to EVs will represent a change in 3000 vehicles that are currently compact cars of gasoline engine displacement of 1500cc or less.

The new vehicles will transport only small cargo and will be limited to a daily driving distance of 80km.

TEPCO estimates the changeover of 3000 vehicles to EVs will reduce annual CO2 emissions by 2800 tons and cut yearly fuel cost by 190 million yen.

FHI envisions that the corporate fleet vehicle market is a promising growth area for EVs.

By understanding TEPCO's vehicle needs and accumulating additional know-how, FHI will continue improvements on EVs, aiming to market them to other companies and expand their use.

Major specifications of the EV to be jointly developed:

Two-seater Driving distance: 80km (city-driving with the battery capacity of 8kWh) Rapid charging: 15 minutes with AC200V outlet (filling up to 80% of the battery) Normal charging: 8 hours with AC100V outlet Battery capacity deterioration tolerance: within 20% lower than the initial capacity (after seven-year use, over 70,000km)

Development schedules: September-December 2005: Joint design work on the EV prototype Mid-October 2005: Completion of the first prototype and delivery March 2006: Completion of the 10th vehicle and delivery (When each vehicle is completed, it will be delivered to and field-tested by TEPCO)

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