Bollore Bluecar Battery Electric Car

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The Bolloré Bluecar is a small four-seat, three-door electric car supplied by Bolloré, designed by Pininfarina and manufactured by Cecomp in Bairo, Italy, under a joint venture owned by Bolloré and Pininfarina called Vehicule Électriques Pininfarina Bolloré (VEPB). The car has a 30kWh lithium metal polymer (LMP) battery, coupled to a supercapacitor, that provides an electric range of 250 km (160 mi) in urban use, and a maximum speed of 120 km/h (75 mph).

Originally shown as the Pininfarina B0 concept car in 2008, the production version was launched in 2011 with the first 250 production version Bluecars deployed as part of the Autolib' carsharing program in Paris on December 5, 2011. In October 2012, the Bluecar first became available to retail customers through leasing, and sales began in February 2013 at a price of €19,000 plus a monthly fee of €80 for the batteries. As of September 2016, a total of 5,689 units have been registered in France, most of which are in service for the Autolib' program. The Bolloré Bluecar was the top selling highway-capable electric car in that country in 2012.

In 2014, Bolloreé entered into a 70/30 joint venture with Renault to manufacture a three-seat version of the Bluecar from the second half of 2015.

Bolloré Bluecar concept

The Bolloré Group, through its subsidiary BatScap, presented the Bluecar EV, a road-ready prototype, at the 2005 Geneva Auto Show. The company intended to showcase the potential of the company's lithium-ion battery technology. The BlueCar concept car used a 30 kW electric motor powered by a 28 kWh lithium-ion battery pack positioned at the centre of the car under the seats and in front of the rear axle.

Production version

Following the 2005 version of the Bluecar, the new Bluecar project was developed by the Pininfarina Design department, led by the Flemish designer Lowie Vermeersch, who had previously coordinated other projects such as the Pininfarina Sintesi and the Ferrari California. The car was dedicated to the memory of Andrea Pininfarina, who died two months before its unveiling and who was a firm believer in the project.

The main differences between the production Bluecar and the B0 concept car is in the detail design. The production version is launched as a three-door compared to the B0's five-door design. The photovoltaic roof was omitted and the front and rear lights and interior dashboard are simplified.

Specifications

The Bluecar is a three-door hatchback electric car with four seats. Both the retail and Autolib' versions share the same drivetrain specification. The electric car has a 30 kWh lithium metal polymer battery located under the passenger seats, coupled to a supercapacitor, that provides an electric range of 250 km (160 mi) in the city and 150 km (93 mi) on the highway at a maximum power of 50 kW. The maximum speed is 130 km/h (81 mph) and the battery weighs 300 kg (660 lb). The batteries are made in Bolloré owned facilities in two locations, one in Brittany, France and the other in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Bolloré is unique in integrating solid-state batteries into production vehicles. The LMP batteries consist of a laminate of four ultra-thin materials:  metallic lithium foil anode that acts as both a lithium source and a current collector;  solid polymeric electrolyte created by dissolving a lithium salt in a solvating co-polymer (polyoxyethylene);  cathode composed of vanadium oxide, carbon, and polymer to form a plastic composite; and aluminium foil current collector.