1999 EV-1 With Ovonic NiMH Batteries Enthusiastically Received
4 January 1999
1999 EV-1 With Ovonic NiMH Batteries Enthusiastically Received A 'Revolution in Range' for EV Vehicles
DETROIT, Jan. 4 -- One month after General Motors Corporation
(GM) introduced the 1999 model EV-1 electric car with GM Ovonic nickel metal
hydride (NiMH) batteries in Los Angeles, Calif., Energy Conversion Devices,
Inc. (ECD) continues to receive high praise from EV-1 owners
and test drivers who are amazed by the vehicle's driving range on a single
charge.
Consider the following customer testimonials:
* An EV enthusiast, who had been driving an early EV-1 with lead acid
batteries, completed a 78-mile trip from the Hollywood Hills to Northern
Malibu and back, and had 44 miles range remaining. Calling the 1999 EV-1
"absolutely amazing," he said the trip "would have been impossible with the
lead acid EV."
* A customer who drove from Phoenix to Tucson, Arizona at normal highway
speeds, a distance of 115 miles, had 30 miles range remaining, calling the
1999 EV-1 a "revolution in range."
* "The 1999 EV-1 with NiMH batteries is nothing short of phenomenal!
Superlatives fail me."
The GM 1999 EV-1 utilizes a high-performance, longer-lasting GM Ovonic
NiMH Generation I battery which stores twice the energy of a lead acid battery
for the same weight and volume. It also utilizes a second-generation electric
propulsion design that reduces cost and complexity while improving performance
and reliability. Typical of consumer electronic devices, such as personal
computers and cell phones, technology advances and increasing sales volumes
result in lower costs. The second-generation electric drive system has one-
third fewer parts than the first generation at approximately one-half the
cost.
The proprietary Ovonic NiMH batteries are produced by GM Ovonic, L.L.C.
(GM Ovonic), a joint venture between GM and Ovonic Battery Company, Inc.
(Ovonic Battery), a subsidiary of ECD. With NiMH cell production in Troy,
Mich., and final module and battery pack assembly at Ovonic Power Systems,
Inc. in Kettering, Ohio, a wholly-owned subsidiary of GM Ovonic, initial
battery production started at one battery pack per day (one car) and will
increase through the year.
Ovonic Battery is preparing to introduce its Generation II design for the
NiMH battery later this year. This advanced design with its lower cost will
further help to make electric vehicles cost competitive with conventional
gasoline-powered vehicles. Ovonic Battery's business plan calls for
significant increases in energy and power with each next-generation NiMH
battery, while at the same time reducing cost. ECD is firmly committed and is
on track to meet the auto industry's battery cost goal of $150 per kilowatt
hour established to assure the cost competitiveness of electric vehicles.
ECD is a leader in the synthesis of new materials and the development of
advanced production technology and innovative products. It has pioneered and
developed enabling technologies leading to new products and production
processes based on amorphous, disordered and related materials, with an
emphasis on alternative energy and advanced information technologies. ECD's
web site address is http://ovonic.com.
This release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of
the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions which ECD, as
the date of this release, believes to be reasonable and appropriate. ECD
cautions, however, that the actual facts and conditions that may exist in the
future could vary materially from the assumed facts and conditions upon which
such forward-looking statements are based.
